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

Gathering Information

Cecile and I have been kidnapped by a mysterious group of three people. I think it’s some kind of warehouse because there are several piles of what looks like luggage in crates in the corner of the room.

(I have to find out where we are first.)

Through Chappy, I tried to gather information from the bandits who intruded the mansion. We seem to be in a warehouse somewhere in the city, but I couldn’t locate it. I need to know the location to escape.

In the gaze of the Chappy, the man who had been punched in the stomach by the man called Dagraha’s brother was still holding his stomach.

“Marcus, does it still hurt?”

“Oh, this really hurts. Why the hell is that guy in charge?”

The man called Marcus who was punched in the side was cursing the puncher. As the bandits continued their conversation, I closed my eyes and continued to listen.

“It can’t be helped. It’s the boss’s order.”

“I don’t care if he’s the countermeasure against Zenov or whatever, but he’s getting carried away just because he came back from the battlefield. Do you know that Dagraha escaped from the battlefield in a year? Why does he have such a big attitude?”

“Stop right there. Umbra told that to him and lost his head.”

“Seriously? Is that why I haven’t seen Umbra lately?”

“Yeah, but Zenov was defending the fortress for 10 years. Can Dagraha defeat Zenov?”

“Do you know what happened to that fortress?”

“You know a lot about the battlefield. Do you know what happened?”

“Yeah, I heard that even after 10 years of defending the fortress, it fell without a trace and everyone who was guarding it died. I don’t know how Zenov came back, but congratulations to him.”

“Seriously, what’s the point of dying over something like that, even if you have Talent?”

“Right? The battlefield is where the idiots go.”

(Battlefield? Rickel said there was no battlefield, so there really is a war.)

I don’t know if there will be any discrepancies in the conversation between Rickel and the bandits about the war. However, my current priority is to escape from the current situation. I continued ‘sleeping’ listening to the bandits’ conversation.

Then an hour passed by.

(Mmm, no more information. I don’t even know where I am. Should I secure my escape route first?)

I listened to them for about an hour, but I couldn’t seem to get any useful information. They were talking about how they would gamble with the money from selling me.

They seem to have left my Mithril sword behind when I lost consciousness during the battle with the bandits at the mansion. As for the weapons I have now, the dagger and the Iron ball that Dogora gave me are in <Inventory>. Even if I have to fight, Cecile will be there, so I’d like to take precaution and escape.

One of the bandits stood up, saying he was going to go do his business.

(Oh! He’s going out? I should use this opportunity.)

One of the two Chappys hiding in the corner of the crate took off at my command. The door to this warehouse-like room opened, and I tried to get out as the bandit went to do his business.

(Will it look suspicious? Well, if I can get out, I can find out the location of this place, so it doesn’t matter.)

My first priority is to understand what’s going on out there, even if they find it a little suspicious.

“Oh? Why is there a bird here?”

As Chappy flew around the warehouse, it caught the attention of the two remaining bandits. Ignoring the eyes of the bandits who were questioning the sudden appearance of the bird, I slipped in and walked out through the open door.

“Huh? Some rich guy just brought his bird on the ship, didn’t he?”

“Seriously?”

(What? A ship? We’re on a ship?)

I listened to the conversation between the two bandits and looked through the door with the help of Chappy. I had thought that this was a warehouse in the city and that the door was outside. However, what lay beyond the door was a long corridor. The corridor was a little taller than an adult, maybe two meters or so, and it went on forever.

I overtook the bandit who went to do his business and continued down the corridor.

I went straight ahead and found a staircase. I walked up the stairs.

(Should I go upstairs? The warehouse is huge, and this building is pretty big.

After the stairs, there was another corridor, so I pushed forward to the exit.

To the right of where I was going, I saw another door. There was a round glass window that allowed me to look beyond the door.

(Oh? Can I get out of here?)

It was pitch black beyond the window. I looked up, down, left, right and everywhere as if peering through the window, but I couldn’t see anything.

(I don’t see anything. Hmm? I can see stars in the sky. So it’s night now. But, why can’t I see the ground?)

I think it was just before evening when the bandits attacked the mansion. Hours have already passed, and it seems to be night. Outside the window, it was pitch black and there seemed to be nothing, but if I looked hard enough, I could see the stars in the sky.

What made me wonder even more was how tall this building was. I looked down but couldn’t see the ground at all, it was pitch black.

(Whoa! The room is shaking!)

Just as I was wondering about the structure of the building and the scenery outside, the room I was in shook violently.

“Hey, pay attention.”

“That’s right. Don’t let the wind get to you.”

The bandits complained that the room shook a lot.

Then the answer to my question echoed through the room. It seemed to be an announcement I had often heard in a previous life.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. The Magic Ship Bahona is currently shaking due to the wind. Please be careful not to fall over due to the sudden swaying, although it will not affect the operation of the ship.”

(Seriously? We’re in a Magic Ship!)

Cecile and I seem to be in a Magic Ship in the night sky. They kidnapped us in the city of Grandver and we are being taken somewhere by the Magic Ship.

(What should I do? I can’t escape from the Magic Ship. I guess I’ll have to defeat the bandits. No, let’s examine the inside of the Magic Ship a little more. Even if I need to fight, I need more information.)

I didn’t think that there was any way to escape from the Magic Ship floating in the air with no visible ground. Still searching for something, I continued exploring the Magic Ship with the help of Chappy. I found a staircase leading to the top. It seems that Cecile and I were in the cargo area at the bottom of this Magic Ship.

(Then again, this Magic Ship can fly, can’t it? I wonder if it’s much slower than an airplane.)

The fact that the window was completely dark meant that the door led to the outside of the Magic Ship. I guessed that it was a door to inspect the outer wall of the huge Magic Ship or something. Unlike the airplane in my previous life, someone from the inside of the Magic Ship seemed to be able to go outside through the door.

If I get out of here, I’ll likely fall to the ground which I can’t even see from here. Chappy couldn’t open this door, so I proceeded further down the corridor that was leading to the top of the Magic Ship.

Then I saw a row of evenly spaced doors that appeared to be guest rooms. It looked like some kind of a business hotel. As I walked further and further, I could hear a lively voice.

A row of guest room doors leading to what appeared to be a restaurant inside a magical ship.

(Oh! There’s a lot of people here! I never thought I’d be strolling through a Magic Ship like this.)

Even though Chappy was flying around, and some of the boat passengers saw us, they didn’t care. I continued to try to gather information and see if there was anything. Then, as I moved towards the back of the restaurant, the customer base changed.

The people were much better dressed. A noblewoman was sitting comfortably on a sofa, drinking alcohol.

Just when I thought I could find no more information, I recognized the two men relaxing on the sofa in the private room.

(Oh! That’s Carnell!)

Viscount Carnell and the Royal Messenger were sitting there comfortably.