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

An hour had passed since Allen and the others had been engaged in the slot game created by Merle's Angel B, "Lucky Slot."

Clink-Clink!

A crisp sound echoed as magic stones vanished in the slot, and within the duration the pile of stones—Allen had dumped at least several tens of thousands of A-rank magic stone in the centre of 17 slot machine, with each chance requiring five of them for every person---which had once been a mountain, had already shrunk to less than half its height.

For the gang, the last hour passed like a river in full flow.

"Argh, geez~. At Least give me the jackpot for once, damn it!!"

Bang bang!

For what was a normal outcome for her, Kurena failed yet once again, and smacked the side of the slot machine, wondering if there was even a real prize to be had.

«Hey, Kurena, stop hitting it. There are proper winners, so the machine is working fine, alright?"

Merle rebuked Kurena, seeing his own weapon being bashed for no apparent reason.

"Eh, she's right. It didn't seem like machines were giving any jackpo---oooh? Woohoo, three goblins baby!"

Dogora was just supporting Kurena when he saw a machine giving three goblins---which means +300 strength for comrades.

"Hey, have you forgot we're trying to get five consecutive gold coins, Dogora?!"

"Huh? I-I know, of course. Why be so angry... I was just saying I got something at least."

However, misunderstanding Allen's loud voice for reprimand, Dogora curbed his voice. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The raised voice was a reflexive move given how much Allen was pinning his hope on this. The additional 30,000 stats in luck, if they get consecutive five gold i.e, was only a bit shorter than silver bullet for the cause.

Dogora, misinterpreting Allen's loud voice as a reprimand, shrank back.

"Whoa! —Ah, what a pity. Just two gold coins… still, you almost got it, Abigail-sama!"

"I-I guess? Well, It's pretty tough."

Meanwhile protector Abigail was cheered on by the people under his command. They seemed to have gotten caught up in the fun of this new pastime, something to break the monotony of their guardian duties.

(*Sigh*, even after spending so much time, it just isn't coming. Rosalina, Keel, and Peromas almost come close to it, but alas.)

Meanwhile, the best result anyone had gotten was three consecutive gold coin.

And, while this was a preparation for their battle, spending too much time here could hamper everyone's spirit.

Allen hadn't thought that the chances of hitting the right combination for the status boosts or magic stones as rewards were so low. And among the seventeen people participating, only a few had managed to win anything significant.

"Hmm? Oho, you have another hit, Rosalina. Right, almost there. Almost... almos----aww, nooo!!"

A high-pitch escape from Rosalina as she saw the line-up of similar marks appearing on screen one after another, reaching the earlier three consecutive appearances, and it even continued further this time, bringing in 4th mark too.

But in a turn of disappointment, when the fifth column slowly spun vertically, the magic stone mark dropped, only for the next goblin mark to stop beside the four magic stone marks.

A beat later, a rain of thousands of A-rank magic stones poured onto the heap of magic stone Allen had created. It was by hinging on the luck of their lucky comrades that despite the heavy consumption of mana stone, everyone was still raging for the lucky jackpot.

"Well, well. I also got four consecutive Mueller flowers!"

Keel, with his gacha luck, struck yet another lucky combo, bringing in another 3000 magic stones.

(It appears the four mark combo is their limit huh. C'mon O' Peromas, now everything relies on your shoulder. Make the elusive goddess of luck shine upon—hmm?)

Allen was silently praying inside his mind while gazing at the screen Peromas was playing when he suddenly halted on his motion. A golden coin appeared on the first row.

"F-FInally!!"

"Huh, what happened?"

"What's it? Did Peromas's luck finally kick in? Haha, well he's armed to the teeth with lucky equipment after all."

Lured in by Allen's sudden shout, Kurena and Dogora peered at the screen from behind.

"C-Calm down, it's still just three gold coins!"

After the first gold coin, the second appeared, then third.

"Sheesh, Peromas! Put your focus on the slot, not us!"

"Relax. We're here to support you!"

Merle and Sophie quipped, not noticing that their words were putting more pressure on Peromas.

"Ack, calm down, everyone. Of course we're here to support him, but just don't frolick much. —Woah! The fourth gold coin!!"

Seeing everyone's excitement had come to trouble Peromas, Keel stood up to ease the situation, however the appearance of the 4th gold coin instead made him a part of the said group as he exclaimed.

As time passed, the long wooden handle of the sacred artifact, Kushinada, which had darkened with age and now featured an abacus at the tip, found itself leaning against the side of the slot machine.

«Hmm, Peromos. It's time to dazzle everyone with your result.»

Perhaps reflecting his anxious feelings, divine energy overflowed around Kushinada, whose presence resonated with the power of the Merchant God, Marne. It seemed that he had wanted Peromas to be the lucky winner among Allen's party members.

After the previous Merchant God had been replaced under the verdict of God of Arbiter, the now Merchant God had bind a contract with Peromas once he aced the trial of god. As the words of contract goes, one of the tasks was to spread the brilliance of Marne The Merchant God and make his name throughout to earn recognition. It was a way to make oneself more prominent among the current 255 pillars.

Maybe it was the curse of fallen predesor's reputation, Merchant God's prestige was abysmally lower than other gods. Moreover, some humans, perhaps out of jealousy, look down upon those who earn money, including the god of commerce.

(Hoho. Well, Peromas doesn't like to appear much on the front stage, so there's that.)

Peromas was the main cornerstone in the Allen Army as the one managing their finance. He was the reason why they wouldn't have to bear any headache over managing some tens of thousands of staff---including the Heavy User Island.

But outside of that, his introverted personality hadn't changed much in contrast even after marrying Fiona, and never once made himself appear at the frontline while others challenged the trials in the divine realm.

The divine power radiating from the Kushinada was a sign that his God also wanted him to put more effort, however all the words ceased the moment as the last slot was about to stop as well.

"You have to stop it, Peromas. Keep your finger on the button, and get ready to press!!"

"Calm down, Shea. My shoulder hurts!"

Within a few moments of commotion, the other members had also come around to watch.

Shea, who had positioned herself behind him, didn't realise she was gripping his shoulder tightly, her fingers as if trying to dig in.

The slot machine basically takes a magic stone as a prize and after inserting it, they pull the lever to spin five columns of drums. Then, they would have to press a button, and the timing would determine the outcome based on how the symbols line up.

With the fierce gazes—something that could be easily imagined as bloodthirsty---of his companions fixated on him, Peromas steadied his trembling hand with the other and slowly pressed the button.

The fifth column, which had been spinning rapidly, began to decelerate in response to the button press.

Goblin, Albaheron, Mueller Flowers, Gold Coins...

"Almost. I can feel the gold coin coming!!"

Kurena's gaze sparkled as she squealed each time the gold coin appeared on the screen of the fifth row.

"Right, it's here. Almoooost, it's coming boyssss!!"

Another excited shout escaped from Dogora.

Slowly, the Albaheron mark passed, and almost with a turtle crawling speed, the Mueller Flowers appeared on the screen. Then, the gold coin mark followed closely behind.

With eyes running bloodshot as if they'd not slept for ages, a pin-drop silence followed as everyone awaited the moment of result with baited breath.

Was the goddess of luck finally about to shine on them? The group prayed with undivided attention as the gold coin mark slowly came to stop.

"Gosh, nooo. I-I'm sorry! I should have pushed it a bit earlier..."

However the scrolling of the mark eventually stopped at Mueller flower, which was just below gold coin.

"Aww, what a shame...!!"

"Ufufu, indeed, quite a shame."

"Dang it. We've been at it for so long, but no luck."

The bigger the expectation, the bigger the setback. Shea, Sophia and Dogora all looked ready to collapse on their spot as the tension left their body.

"But you did your best, Peromas. Thank you. Anyway, back to your seat, guys. Our task hasn't ye---hmm?"

Giving up all hope for now, Keel sighed and urged his friends to get back to work. He had turned to take a one last look at the machine when he captured the blinking of lights on the slot machine.

«It appears to be the time for [Random variables]...... He really has that luck going for him.»

Among the disappointed group, Merle alone had been intently staring at the slot machine, and informed others about 'Random Variable.'

(What? I didn't know we also had that gacha element!!)

"Huh? What is this---this... this is?!"

Much to Peromas dumbfoundment, the fifth row spun yet again. All the marks started to blink in golden radiance.

"Woaahh! Amazing. Will it change to a gold coin?!"

"S-Shea. Your grip is really hurting me!!"

Goblins, gold coins, Albaheron, gold coins, Mueller’s Flower, gold coins...

The marks flashes in similar golden brilliance as the slot machine.

One out of two times, the mark would flash back to gold coin. The gold coin probability had suddenly shot up to 50% from 10%.

(Tsk, it's really stroking the gambler's spirit huh.)

It was a rollercoaster-esque moment for everyone. Their excitement meter had nosedived from its zenith to the bottom of the ravine, and then back to sky, immediately ensnaring everyone. Shea once again returned back to behind Peromas, though she gripped his shoulder so hard one could hear the bone's creaking sound.

"D-Damn be me, you're freaking amazing, Peromas!!"

"You can definitely do it!!"

Another wave of excited cheers escaped from Kurena and Dogora.

"T-Thanks. I will d-definitely win this one..."

With trembling fingers, Peromas reached out to push the button.

The mark on the fifth row passes by the gold coin on the fourth row once out of every two spins.

It slows down gradually, and after passing the magic stone mark, the gold coin finally lined up next to the gold coin on the fourth row.

With the alignment, the slot’s screen changes to a dazzling display with gold coins pouring down like a rainstorm.

"Holy fuuuuuuuuuudgeeee!! It's here, damn, it's really happening! You did it, Peromas!!"

Keel had been quietly watching in this re-round, and immediately squealed in delight at the result.

At last, the long mission of fishing out for five golden coin marks met with a spectacular and dazzling end.

«Haha, the five golden coins are here. Now it's time to tackle the main problem.»

"Wow, your luck has really breached the ceiling of 600,000 units, Peromas."

It appeared that the luck of the whole team had been buffed by 300,000 units. Merle announced the changes promptly.

Peromas specially had received the staggering upliftment.

——Peromas's Stats (simplified version + buffs omitted, based on Chapter 694)——

[Strength] 181,732 + 30,000 (from equipment)

[Mana] 157,881

[Spiritual Power] 157,881

[Attack] 288,331 + 10,000

[Endurance] 135,229 + 10,000

[Agility] 350,086

[Intelligence] 356,962

[Luck] 585,473 + 40,000

[Divine Technique] Fortune Charm

"I-I will start then. Next is my divine technique ‘Fortune Charm’. Activate—«Ultimate Merchant»!"

What Allen sought for this round of battle was a two-layered luck buff.

First, they would increase their luck to the maximum stats possible by using Merle's «Lucky Slot». Once the luck requirement had been met, Peromas would bring his «Fortune Charm» divine technique.

A burst of spiritual power emanates from Peromas as he intones the skill 'Divine Technique' to allow him to use the technique.

"Alright. Spin for me---«Fortune Charm»!!"

He then channeled the outburst of spiritual aura into both hands, and following his movements, a cube-shaped object, with each side being one-meter long, manifested.

—Fwoomp, Fwoomp, Fwoomp.

The manifestation of cubes---dice would be the better way to describe them---stopped when there were at least 6 of them.

"Hurray, Peroma's divine skill is now, guys! Alright, depending on it goes, we would fight against Nestirad. I'm already beyond excited!!"

As everyone's gazes gathered on the six dice, Allen---he was the only one to not hit a single jackpot---staged his dramatic speech to bring a wave of motivation in them.

T/N - Hello, hello. I hope everyone are doing great. It's an update time, finally. I really don't know where to begin honestly. My health had been upside down during the beginning of last month, and just as I thought I was better, updated one chapter, I got sick again. Turn out It was typhoid. Now my focus would be to finish the schedule without prolonging it. Let's see, right now, it's 1/16. Will keep updating regularly.