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

"Hey, it's my turn now! I was the one who asked him."

"Eh, I get it!"

"..."

Doberg silently watched the exchange between Kurena and Dogora.

Doberg was holding a Mithril Greatsword on one hand for practice.

Behind our base, we had a large backyard.

The servants that Helmios had brought with him, washed and dried the clothes that were dirtied by both the parties in the dungeon in that very backyard, but there was still plenty of empty space left.

Since our party had 1 and a half days off after our dungeon trips, Dogora began to practice in the backyard.

Kurena also joined him.

In fact, in my opinion, they didn't need the holiday, but Kiel and Merle wanted a holiday system like the Academy had, so we continued the vholiday system.

As for me, I also wanted to have enough spare time to produce [Mana Seed]s and [Blessing of Heaven]s.

When Dogora asked Doberg to practice with him, who was silently swinging his Greatsword in the backyard, Doberg agreed to do so with two words.

Since then, on their days off, Doberg, Kurena, and Dogora had been practicing in the garden.

Doberg also didn't need a day off, and Kurena and Dogora took turns asking him for training, so he was in the backyard almost all day long on the holidays.

When I showed my concern, Doberg told me that it was not a problem.

I wondered how Doberg saw everything around him while fighting, since he had one of his eyes covered.

"Thank you."

While watching the three of them interact I thanked the servant who provided me tea.

"So, how's the 4th floor going?"

"We've finished Leveling up, so we're just focusing on our Skill Levels. But more importantly, I wanted to ask you something."

"Hmm? What is it?"

Helmios, sitting next to me, asks me what I think about the situation on the 4th floor.

About a month has passed since we entered the 4th floor, and we are steadily gathering equipment and items.

But just as he was about to ask Helmios about the 4th floor, he heard a voice saying, "I'm not sure.

"Hey, hey, Kelpie, please be quiet."

"Cuicui cuicui."

The Infant Water Spirit that Sophie was manifesting went wild in Sophie's chest, trying to drink the tea that the servant had served Sophie.

Kelpie, an Infant Water Spirit, was the next Infant Spirit Sophie began manifesting after Salamander.

She had the appearance of a cute little dolphin with a two-tone white belly and light blue back.

When I heard the word "Kelpie," I imagined it to look like a horse, but in this world it seemed to look like a dolphin.

Furthermore, the name Kelpie reminded me of the name of a character I named in my previous life, "Kelpie, in an online game, but I never said it out loud.

{TLN: It is implied that Allen played various games in his previous life. Kelpie is probably a name which he used for one of them.}

Every time Sophie calls out for the Infant Water Spirit, it sends a tingle down my spine.

Sophie manifested a Salamander, an Infant Fire Spirit before, but if he was not handled properly, Dogora's would suffer.

Because of that and also since Sophie had raised her affinity with the Fire Spirit to a certain degree already, I asked Sophie to switch to an Infant Water Spirit.

Note that a Spirit Mage could manifest only one Infant Spirit at a time.

"So what is it?"

"I can't find any Orichalcum."

(I'm not getting any at all. Did you lie to me?)

One of the main reasons why we came to the S-class dungeon was to get the Orichalcum weapons and armor, which had not yet been fulfilled.

Although we had only been on the 4th floor for a month or so, we were moving faster than the other dwarves adventurers and had already found quite a few Treasure Chests.

However, we had not found a single gram of Orichalcum.

"Oh, hmmm. I found it on the ocean floor."

"Ocean floor? Are there Treasure Chests at the bottom of the ocean as well?"

I had B-rank Fish look for anything underwater too, but the only thing I found were magical beasts.

I didn't recall finding any Treasure Chests.

"Well, that's..."

Helmios explained to me how he found Orichalcum.

He said that there were places on the 4th floor where treasures lay without being inside the Treasure Chests.

He told me that he found Orichalcum inside a giant clam.

(Seriously? There are treasures that can be found outside the Treasure Chests? And that too underwater?)

"That's great. How did you find it? I don't think it was a coincidence."

"What? I was the one who found it, okay? Isn't it amazing?"

Rosetta, the Thief who was listening to the conversation between me and Helmios, proudly joined in on the conversation.

"Is it a Treasure-seeking skill?"

"Yes, it is. How did you know? Do you want to know more about it?"

"No, thank you."

(I'm not going to ask for any more details, because there's no point. But still, it's a skill that's perfect for a Thief. Can it tell the location of treasures within range, or something like that?)

I predicted the effect of the Treasure-seeking skill used by Rosetta.

Then while thinking about how to explore the ocean floor, I headed for the Adventurer's Guild.

I left Dogora and Kurena at the base since it was just for the usual deal.

And as usual, I purchased a large amount of magic stones, but the price had still not changed.

It was probably because there were so many adventurers and a large supply of magic stones.

It was appropriate for most magic stones to appear in an Empire that seeked to rule the world with magic tools.

In the evening, my friends and I went to dine at our usual bar.

As per the rules I had set as the leader, everyone could do whatever they wanted on holidays, so sometimes there would only be some of us, but everyone was together that day.

Going to the bar at night was also a way for Merle to replenish her supply of alcohol.

(Is Admiral Galala not here today? I see Mr. Ur is here.)

I looked around as I entered the bar, but there didn't seem to be Admiral Galala head-locking his subordinate.

A wolf beastman named Ur, whom we rescued from Beebe, and a cat beastman named Sara were eating together.

I looked around and my eyes met with Ur's.

"Mr. Ur, it's been a while. Are you having dinner?"

"Oh, yes. You're here as well, today."

"Yes. Merle likes this place. Would you two like to dine with us?"

I said so and invited Ur to dinner as a matter of course.

Ur apologized to me for bringing Prince Zew out of the blue a short while ago.

Then we sometimes met in the city and had dinners together.

I always actively tried to talk to Ur whenever I saw him on the streets.

My objective was to find out the movement of the Beast Kingdom.

Ur was just an adventurer, so he didn't seem to know the big story of the Beast Kingdom, but he seemed to know a lot about Prince Zeu Beast.

So, the only reason I approached Ur was to find out what was going on in the Beast Kingdom or to know the status of Prince Zew's dungeon raid.

"Then, you're still operating on the 2nd floor?"

"Oh, the Crown Prince Bek is trying to keep the best adventurers from being dispatched. Oh, please don't tell this story anywhere else."

As my friends ordered their food, I continued my conversation with Ur.

"Of course I won't. Then I guess it'll still take some time for you to conquer the dungeon."

"Yeah, and what about you, Allen? Are you going to stay on the 4th floor all the time?"

"Yes, I think so. I plan to stay for six months. But still, how long do you have to stay here for?"

Ur took me up on the offer, and the conversation continued.

Ur had never once turned down my advances.

Perhaps Prince Zew had told him to keep tabs on us.

Maybe what he wanted to hear was not information about me and my party, but what Helmios and his party were up to.

The conversation proceeded with mutual speculation.

"Yeah, six months for us, too, I guess. Then we can go back to the Beast Kingdom."

Last I heard, the beastmen were not eager to enter the dangerous S-class dungeon.

It seemed that those who had any Talent in the Beast Kingdom were forced to go to the S-class dungeon for a year by order of the Crown Prince Bek for the prosperity of the Kingdom.

They were loaned weapons and armor made of Hihirokane and Adamantite, and forced to attack the dungeon for a year.

According to Ur, half of the money they earned in the dungeon belonged to them, while the other half had to be paid to the Kingdom.

If they refused, they would be arrested for treason, so many beastmen were reluctant to enter the dungeon far from properly challenging it.

(When I talk to Mr. Ur like this, he doesn't seem to hate the Central Continent entirely. Well, maybe it's just because he owes me his life.)

There was no sense of malice or hostility toward the people of the Central Continent from Ur.

In addition, I learned in the Academy that beastmen, elves, and dwarves were also humans.

Although technically subhuman, they were also educated at the Academy that they are no different from humans.

Prince Zew, who didn't like how the beastmen were forced to challenge the dungeon, was taking care of them in the city.

He was trying to organize the disparate beastmen and keep them out of danger as much as possible.

Ur seemed to be overflowing with gratitude to Prince Zew.

I was also told that Prince Zew hadn't come to the S-class dungeon for the sole purpose of helping the beastmen.

The purpose of Prince Zew's being there was because he wanted to be the next Beast King.

According to the Beast King of the time, if Prince Zew was the first one to conquer the S-class dungeon, he would be made the next Beast King.

Normally, the throne of the Beast King should be inherited by the first-born, but it feels like a rather cerebral country, where it is customary for the strong to become the Beast King.

It seemed to be a country where the Royalty would fight against each other for the throne instead of it being handed to the first-born.

Then, I guess, Prince Zew came to the S-class dungeon and saw the misery of the beastmen in all its glory.

Prince Zew required excellent adventurers to conquer the S-class dungeon, but he was having difficulty in calling them from the Beast Kingdom.

Ur lamented that the Crown Prince Bek was getting in the way.

"Speaking of which, why are you entering such a dangerous dungeon, Allen? You didn't get your orders from the King, did you?"

"Of course not. I want the reward for conquering the dungeon."

"Seriously? Does it even exist?"

Helmios had told me that Digragni had told him about it before, so I was sure.

Helmios said he had conversations with Digragni even when he was at the Academy.

When I asked him how he did it, he said he asked the Priest who took care of the Digragni in the temple of the S-class dungeon to let him meet with him.

Helmios was told that he would get the same rewards for conquering the S-class dungeon as one would get for conquering any other A-class or lower dungeons.

My goal was to conquer the S-class dungeon and get the reward.

The S-class dungeon was a place where one could get chunks of Orichalcum and other items without having to fight against the strongest magical beast.

Rewards better than that were basically guaranteed if one could conquer it.

"Are you serious? I have heard that even Admiral Galara's party hasn't made it to the 5th floor yet."

"Yeah, well. Because there is no dungeon I can't conquer."

Yes, with conviction, Allen put into words his will to conquer the S-class dungeon.