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

"Defeating the Demon King, you say?"

Giamut's emperor replied, the magic devices echoing his voice throughout the meeting room.

Allen did not talk about defeating the Demon King's Army that kept attacking them, but instead said he wanted to take down the source of all evils, known as the 'World Ender Demon King'.

All the representatives listened more closely hearing that.

The Demon King had appeared more than a century ago, and had been terrorizing the world since fifty years ago.

Now the world was so weakened that the mere thought of defeating the Demon King seemed impossible.

"Yes. But there's a limit to how much my party alone can do, so I decided to create an army."

"But Allen, I feel like you're already doing more than enough fighting the Demon King's Army, and yet you want to go further and defeat the Demon King himself? Did you hear that, Helmios?"

Saying that, the emperor turned to look at Helmios.

Allen had helped push out the Demon King's Army's advances into Rosenheim, so he knew what he would be up against.

And yet he insisted on defeating the Demon King.

(I see, the Five Continents' Alliance doesn't think so lightly of the Demon King. Though well, I guess it's true he's still undefeated after all those years.)

The hero Helmios was sitting together with them on the round table.

Helmios had some experience being around Allen, so they figured he might have some more insight.

That he was sitting together with the leaders of the Alliance, who essentially ran the world, went to show just how much they valued Helmios' achievements.

No one was against seeing the man who looked like a beacon of hope for humanity sitting there.

The emperor wanted to hear Helmios' opinion of Allen, even though he had already questioned Guild Master McCarran at length earlier.

According to McCarran, Allen had a burning desire to constantly become more powerful, and loved analyzing everything in depth.

He had no interest in social rankings or fame, and had no desire for an influential position.

In other words, it was safe to assume Allen was not trying to gain anything of importance, which could also be of the Alliance's advantage.

Allen had helped in Rosenheim the year before, and was the first one to respond to the distress signal from the Holy Land, so all the representatives paid attention to that as well.

As the leader of the organization managing adventurers in the world, McCarran had also been watching Allen ever since he cleared the S Rank Dungeon.

Knowing Allen's personality had also been part of his mission when he went to Baukis to meet him.

But the leaders of the Five Continents' Alliance still felt like Allen might be dreaming a bit too much, thinking it was possible to defeat the Demon King.

Everyone in the room was a bit bewildered.

The Five Continents' Alliance had never gotten that far, so how did he expect to accomplish that?

(Well, from a numbers and Talents standpoint it's still a small force, so I get why they feel that way.)

The party of a handful of adventurers had grown into an army of five thousand.

While considerable, those were still small numbers compared to the Five Continents' Alliance's forces.

In total, the Five Continents' Alliance possessed around a million men.

Five thousand was the number of people they dispatched to a single fortification.

Everyone was doubtful Allen would get far with such a small number of people.

"This is Allen we're talking about. He's always had that goal since the day I met him. I feel like he's the first person to get so close to accomplishing that goal as well, or at least closer than I'll ever get."

Helmios spoke, trying to dispel the doubt surrounding Allen.

"You really think so?"

"For sure."

He replied casually to the emperor.

Helmios was around the same age as the emperor, and around a decade older than Allen.

It was possible that the two had known each other since they were young.

Something made Allen wish that it was not the most friendly relationship though.

(Well, maybe the rumors aren't true and he's actually a nice person. You can hear all sorts of stories from a palace after all.)

Giamut's emperor did not have the best reputation out there.

While some of his ancestors had been known as wise or tyrant emperors, he was known as the 'Red Handed Emperor'.

His three older brothers had all met mysterious deaths, and even the previous emperor died without explanation, letting Regalfares ascend to the throne at an early age.

Allen constantly looked at the emperor, trying to discern whether the rumors were true or not.

"Hah, you really think you're so strong? Even though you just go around gathering anyone strong or skilled enough?"

Both McCarran and Helmios had showered Allen with praise.

The Beast King could not take it anymore.

His voice was rough, unlike that of royalty. Allen felt like that manner of speech was better suited for a rowdy adventurer.

It seemed he was not convinced about Allen's strength.

"I'm not sure how to measure that, but at least I'm stronger than anyone here."

(Though fighting a Demon Great General, not to mention the Demon King, is still a pretty hard fight to win.)

"What did you say?"

Allen was suggesting he was even stronger than the Beast King, which seemed to infuriate him greatly as his mane fuzzed up.

Allen imagined he was also turning red with anger, but his skin was impossible to see through his thick fur.

"Beast King, we're not here to fight. But I'm curious to see whether he's really stronger than me as well. I believe we should investigate whether he's telling the truth, I'm sure everyone here wants to verify that."

It seemed like Allen's words had prompted a reaction from everyone.

There was something the emperor had prepared specifically for the moment Allen and his party appeared in the meeting.

He turned to the side, giving a signal to a knight waiting next to a door, which was promptly opened.

"Hm? Investigate it? You mean letting the hero appraise us?"

That was the fastest way to determine one's strength.

"Technically yes, an appraisal. I'm glad you catch on quickly. But it won't be done by Helmios, otherwise not everyone can see it. Bring it in!"

A group of priests brought a large crystal and a black board into the meeting room.

(The device of the appraisal ceremony. They're bringing it with a lot of respect too. I guess this world really loves appraising.)

Allen had already undergone that process two times, during the Appraisal Ceremony when he was five years old, and then during the entrance exams for the Academy.

This would be his third appraisal.

"What should we do, Allen? Are you going to accept?"

Cecile spoke to Allen from her seat.

He was only thinking that the black board looked unusually large.

"I don't really mind being appraised. I'd hate to make things trickier for everyone by refusing anyway."

Allen did not want to become a mysterious entity working in secret, feared like the Demon King.

He knew this was a necessary step to gain the approval from the Five Continents' Alliance.

It was common for him to weigh his options like that.

He would see what he would gain or lose depending on whether he accepted or not, then decide how to act.

"I admire your willingness, Allen. We'll start by showing everyone the power of our strongest hero first, if you don't mind."

Allen's response to Cecile had been picked up by the magic device as well, and heard by the entire room.

The emperor decided Helmios should be appraised first, to give the audience a baseline.

The Beast King just scowled, feeling like Giamut was simply trying to flaunt their power first.

But if he said anything, it would be picked up by the magic devices as well.

"Well, please place your hand on the crystal then."

Everything was ready for the appraisal.

The priest in charge spoke to Helmios first.

"Okay."

The black board was placed in a location that made it easily visible from the platform, those sitting at the round table, and the representatives further away.

It was many times larger than the board used during the Appraisal Ceremony, almost like a projector screen on the wall of a conference room.

The crystal began glowing and Helmios' stats were displayed on the board.

(Oh?)

[Talent]: Hero King

[Strength]: 3555 + 3600

[Mana]: 2550 + 3600

[Attack]: 3555 + 3600

[Endurance]: 3555 + 3600

[Agility]: 3555 + 3600

[Intelligence]: 2550 + 3600

[Luck]: 3199 + 3600

[Skills]: Hero King, Recovery, Flight, Appraise, Holy Sword, Heroism, Kumite, Axemanship, Swordsmanship, Spearmanship, Shield Technique, Throwing

[Extra Skill]: Phoenix Sword

"Ohhh! He's not just a Hero, but a Hero King!!"

"Is this your first time seeing Helmios' appraisal?"

"I never get tired of seeing such wonderful numbers."

The various representatives started talking with each other.

Helmios' stats were impressive.

Some of the representatives had seen that before.

Maybe the emperor enjoyed showing off at every opportunity he got.

(Ohh, he's already reached his level cap. And he has a bunch of Skills too. I guess he can use spears and axes too now.)

Helmios had undergone a Talent Change to become Hero King, and had already reached Level 60 after that.

There was also a letter from E to S next to each stat in the board, and all of them were quite high.

This seemed to be a special appraisal crystal.

Still, it was not as detailed as Allen's Grimoire.

It did not show his Level, Skill Levels, Experience points, or Skill Experience.

Then Allen recalled that people referred to levels as God's Trials in this world.

The reason why those stats were not displayed was simply because they had a different understanding of them.

Allen wrote down Helmios' updated stats into his notes.

(I guess it makes sense for a hero to have such a vast array of Skills.)

Helmios had been at the front lines for ten years, fighting against the Demon King's Army. With time he had gained the ability to use spears and axes on top of his original swordsmanship.

He had trained with everything he could to be stronger.

After that the members of Allen's party would undergo appraisals in order, including Peromus who was a merchant, and Luck who still had not Changed Talents.

There was a lukewarm reaction to their appraisals.

Those two had not reached their limits yet.

Shea was the next one to be appraised.

[Blessing]: Beast God

[Talent]: Beast Fighter Saint

[Strength]: 1702 + 1800

[Mana]: 846

[Attack]: 2560 + 1800

[Endurance]: 1702 + 1800

[Agility]: 2560 + 1800

[Intelligence]: 846

[Luck]: 1092

[Skills]: Fighter Saint, Clobber, Swift Wind Strike, Punch Shower, Explosive Hit, Kumite, Boxing

[Extra Skill]: Beast King Mode

"As expected of Albahara's princess. I'm jealous that their royal family has such strong members."

Someone in the rear seats said that, from his appearance Allen determined he was the king of some country and not just a representative.

Shea had reached Level 60, and all her Skill Levels were at 6. The limits of Normal Mode.

But none of that was visible, even though she was part of Allen's party now.

Multiple people in the audience voiced their envy at having such a strong daughter.

They all noticed that she had inherited the blessing of the Beast God Garm too.

"Hmph! So even Shea is still like that. Can't you at least produce the same results as any of the Ten Heroic Beasts?"

On top of all the chattering, the Beast King's complaints were heard through the room.

The magic device had picked up his voice, even though he remained reclined with his arms crossed.

Dogora felt bad noticing the shadow covering Shea's face hearing that.

She did not seem very comfortable there.

"A-alright, next one please."

The priest invited the next member to be appraised.

"I guess that's me then."

Merle stood up and trotted to the crystal.

"Ohh! A new Magic Rock King has appeared!!"

One of the representatives exclaimed loudly while standing up.

Others followed suit, shocked at the results.

This was the first time the public saw Merle's stats after her Talent Change.