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

After one month since Merle first piloted her Golem.

We had obtained a Strengthening Stone Slab and one that increased its size.

The Golem Tam-Tam was getting stronger and stronger.

"Mr. Helmios, aren't you going to the dungeon today? I mean, Rosetta. Please don't get too attached. There's an empty seat over there."

(Don't touch me)

"Don't say that. We are friends."

"Yes, Allen. You shouldn't talk like that to your seniors."

We were on the ground floor of the base which we were sharing with Helmios' party.

All members of both parties were there.

Thanks to that, the group was quite large, about 20 people, but our base was made to accommodate a party of 30 adventurers, so it was not a problem.

In addition, since we had decided to split the rent where Helmios' party paid 20 Gold coins and we paid 10.

Thanks to Helmios' servants who had furnished this once empty base, the tables and sofas that suited a Noble's mansion filled our base.

Rosetta, a Thief was sitting next to me on the sofa. The woman in the navel-girdle clothes was trying to get in my way, to see what I liked.

I asked her how she joined the Helmios' party as she often tangled with me over drinks at the base.

Apparently, Rosetta was the head of a gang of Thieves in the Imperial Capital of the Giamut Empire.

She was caught and about to be executed, but was released on the condition that she become Helmios' party member. She then wanted to steal Helmios' heart.

My respect for Helmios went up a bit as I wondered if that was a way to get a rare 3-star Thief type to join him.

For various reasons, Helmios had eight women around 20 years old in his party.

Rosetta, the Thief, nimbly places her hand on my shoulder.

I was unresponsive no matter what she did, which seemed to amuse her.

A sigh escaped my mouth.

"Oh!"

Then Cecile, who was sitting next to me, silently brushes off Rosetta's hand and glares at her, with a murderous gaze.

That made Rosetta more excited.

Apparently, she enjoyed teasing Cecile.

In the midst of all that, Rosen, the Spirit God in his Flying Squirrel form, riding on Sophie's shoulder, floated in the air and looked towards me.

That day, Spirit God Rosen was going to change my friend's Talents.

We took a day off because I wanted to talk about how we were going to fight with their new Talents.

"You've all reached your limit of growth. Haha."

"Yes. Please change everyone's Talent who have reached the Level caps."

"I will start now. Haha."

"I can finally change Talent."

The Spirit God Rosen did his usual hip-swinging dance as he proceeded with changing Talents, while Master Swordsman Doberg looked on with tears in his eyes.

Perhaps it was a scene he had dreamed about for decades.

Not only Doberg, but all of Helmios' companions were looking at my friends who were having their Talents changed with wide eyes.

Some had more choices in their Talents, but they chose their Talents with our party composition and efficiency in mind.

Then, everyone's Talent change was done.

[Name] Kurena

[Age] 14

[Talent] Sword Emperor

[Level] 1

[Strength] 1790

[Magic] 770

[Attack] 1790

[Endurance] 1608

[Agility] 1150

[Intelligence] 775

[Luck] 1095

[Skills] Sword Emperor <1>, Slash <1>, Swordsmanship <6>

[Extra Skill] Limit Break

[Experience] 0/10

Skill Level

[Sword Emperor] 1

[Slash] 1

Skill Experience

[Slash] 0/10

[Name] Dogora

[Age] 14

[Talent] Barbarian General

[Level] 1

[Strength] 1098

[Magic] 651

[Attack] 1615

[Endurance] 817

[Agility] 683

[Intelligence] 504

[Luck] 727

[Skill] Barbarian General <1>, Full-Body <1>, Axemanship <6>, Shield Art <2>

[Extra] Body and Soul

[Experience] 0/10

Skill Level

[Barbarian General] 1

[Full-Body] 1

Skill Experience

[Full-Body] 0/10

[Name] Cecile Granvelle

[Age] 14

[Talent] Archmage

[Level] 1

[Strength] 995

[Magic] 1614

[Attack] 578

[Endurance] 624

[Agility] 1022

[Intelligence] 1778

[Luck] 1007

[Skills] Archmage <1>, Fire Magic<1>, Kumite <4>

[Extra Skill] Small Meteorite

[Experience] 0/10

Skill Level

[Archmage] 1

[Fire Magic] 1

Skill Experience

[Fire magic] 0/10

[Name] Kiel-von-Carnell

[Age] 14

[Talent] Saint

[Level] 1

[Strength] 583

[Magic] 1120

[Attack] 447

[Endurance] 623

[Agility] 712

[Intelligence] 979

[Luck] 895

[Skills] Saint <1>, Recovery Magic <1>, Swordsmanship <3>

[Extra Skill] God Drop

[Experience] 0/10

Skill Level

[Saint] 1

[Recovery magic] 1

Skill Experience

[Recovery Magic] 0/10

[Name] Sofiarone

[Age] 49

[Blessing] Spirit God

[Talent] Spirit Mage

[Level] 1

[Strength] 712

[Magic] 1231

[Attack] 504

[Endurance] 489

[Agility] 713

[Intelligence] 1406

[Luck] 594

[Skill] Spirit Mage <1>, Fire Spirit Magic<1>

[Extra] Great Spirit Manifestation

[Experience] 0/10

Skill Level

[Spirit Mage] 1

[Fire Spirit Magic] 1

Skill Experience

[Fire Spirit Magic] 0/10

[Name] Formar

[Age] 68

[Talent] Master Archer

[Level] 1

[Strength] 982

[Magic] 535

[Attack] 850

[Endurance] 846

[Agility] 543

[Intelligence] 360

[Luck] 582

[Skill] Master Archery <1>, Far-sight <1>, Archery <6>

[Extra] Arrow of Light

[Experience] 0/10

Skill Level

[Master Archery] 1

[Far-sight] 1

Skill Experience

[Far-sight] 0/10

I noted down my friends' stats and their changed Talents.

Kurena => Master Swordsman ★★★ => Sword King ★★★★ => Sword Emperor ★★★★★

Cecile => Mage ★★ => Grand Mage ★★★ => Archmage ★★★★

Dogora => Axe Knight ★⇒Barbarian ★★⇒Barbarian General ★★★

Kiel => Priest ★ => Bishop ★★ => Saint ★★★

Sophie => Spirit Wielder ★⇒Spirit Magician ★★⇒Spirit Mage ★★★

Formar => Bowman ★ => Archer ★★ => Master Archer ★★★

{TLN: I am really surprised that Formar Talent was just 1-star considering that he is the Princess' bodyguard. Also, I still think that somewhere in the Academy Arc it was mentioned that he had a 2-star Talent. I am changing 1-star of the Archer line to Bowman just so in the war we can make sense that there were 2-star Archers. If you have anything you want to talk about, let's discuss in Discord. (Patreon Channel)}

"That's it. Dogora is a Barbarian General? I thought his Extra Skill will disappear after his Talent change. After all, he hasn't even used it once as a Barbarian."

"..."

(Is he also in Hell Mode since he can't use his Extra Skill?)

I was being sarcastic when I said that.

Dogora didn't refute anything.

I was convinced that we would be a lot more stronger if Dogora were able to use his Extra Skill whenever he wanted.

I had been asking Helmios tips on how Dogora could use his Extra Skill, but I hadn't gotten any useful information out of him.

"Thank you, by the way. I hope everyone saw it. Now there's hope for mankind."

As I recorded the results of the Talent change, Helmios began to talk.

"No, it's nothing to hide."

If the information that Spirit God Rosen was preparing to enable everyone to change Talents, then the world would know that their Talents could be changed.

I believed that there was no longer any need to hide it.

In addition, although I lived with Helmios and his companion, I had not shown them how I made [Blessing of Heaven]s and [Mana Seed]s.

If they ever asked me what I did in my room on my days off, I wouldn't answer truthfully.

I just simply replied with, "I'm resting."

I didn't believe that it was necessary to tell them all of our abilities.

"But don't forget about my request."

"I know. Even if you didn't show me this process, I'd have still made an introduction."

I had one request for Helmios.

That was the processing of Orichalcum.

We could find Orichalcum on the 4th floor.

However, Helmios told me that the Orichalcum on the 4th floor was just a jump of metal and not made into weapons and armors.

According to Helmios, Digragni didn't have the power to process Orichalcum, a divine ore, into weapons and armor.

It seemed that the processing required the help of Freya, the God of Fire.

The Orichalcum rarely obtained on the 4th floor were always found in unprocessed state.

So I asked Helmios to introduce me to the best and most famous Master Blacksmith of this Baukis Empire.

He told me that a grumpy dwarven blacksmith, who didn't accept visitors at first glance, could process the Orichalcum into swords, shields, and armor.

"Also, bring it the next time we go to the dungeon."

"Yes, Master Allen. I will do my best."

"Master Allen, I alone am enough, Lady Sofiarone should just focus on the Spirits first..."

"Formar, we don't have much time. Let's try both at once first, and if it's too tough, we can just focus on the Spirits."

Sophie was upset, so Formar followed up.

But I did not change my mind.

Sophie became a Spirit Mage.

It was a Talent that manifested Spirits and made them fight.

I had given Sophie an Adamantite Bow we had recovered from a Treasure Chest less than two months ago.

I had kept it at the base without selling it, thinking I would give it to Sophie when she changed Talents.

I had seen Spirit Mage Gatoruga fight in the Rosenheim war, but he had a bow.

I asked Sophie if she could use the bow in conjunction with her Spirits, after she became a Spirit Mage, she told me that once she got used to communicating with the Spirits, there would be no problem.

That is why I had given Sophie two tasks: mastering her bow skills and communicating with the Spirits.

With an Adamantite bow, Sophie could defeat B-rank magical beasts instantly, and if her [Attack] were to be increased with a Ring, even A-rank magical beasts could be injured.

I strongly persuaded Sophie to learn it for her future efficiency.

"We'll try the 4th floor after we grind on the 3rd floor for another month or so."

I began to talk about our future plans.

"Abandoned Gamers, huh?"

As she listened to this, Rosetta, the Thief who had previously heard the meaning of the party name "Abandoned Gamers," in which Allen was the leader, looked at the current situation and was somewhat convinced.