Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~
chapter-252

My friends and I were going to the 4th floor for the 1st time that day

"..."

The gatekeeper of the temple, which allowed us to go to the 2nd floor, a 10-minute walk from the base, stared at Sophie in silence.

The gatekeeper's gaze was on Salamander, an infant Fire Spirit that Sophie was holding like a baby.

"Oh, please be quiet."

"Auau."

(He is just a baby but the gatekeeper is still staring at him.)

Sometimes the Salamander used to flap his hands around in Sophie's arms and get out of control.

The gatekeeper gazed at the Salamander quietly and without expression.

The first time we tried to enter the temple with Salamander, we were stopped by the gatekeeper.

He was talking about what we were carrying into the temple, and whether we were taking a magical beast with us.

The gatekeeper who stopped us seemed to be very selective about who was allowed in and who wasn't.

"He is a Spirit." Sophie said, standing motionless, looking at him suspiciously but the gatekeeper still blocked our way.

That's where Formar came in.

"Is it correct to say that the Baukis Empire does not accept Spirits?"

He walked towards the gatekeeper and was so close that it looked like they were going to kiss each other.

Formar, Sophie, the most promising candidate for the throne of Rosenheim,'s escort was a very prominent individual in Rosenheim.

However, the gatekeeper was resolute and did not move, so I asked Sophie to cut off her mana supply and went in. I also asked Rosenheim to take action.

On the same day, the Queen notified the Baukis Empire from Rosenheim through official channels.

The content of the notice was a request that the Baukis Empire not treat Spirits with disrespect.

She also added that the treatment of Spirits within the Baukis Empire would be discussed at the next Five Continents Alliance Meeting.

We went that far, so the next time Sophie passed by with Salamander a few days later as a matter of course, the gatekeeper didn't say anything.

The Baukis Empire seemed to have responded immediately.

Considering our value, it was inevitable.

The Spirit Mage Gatoruga said that affinity with Spirits could only be improved by manifesting them for as long as possible and treating them wholeheartedly.

I had told Sophie to keep the Spirit manifested with her every waking moment.

"Is this it? It's like we are on a leaf of some kind, just like they said."

"Yes, it is. It's a little soft when you step on it."

My friends and I moved to the 4th floor for the first time using Medals.

The ground on the 4th floor was green.

It looked somewhat like a leaf, probably because of the vein-like streaks running through the ground.

Although resilient, it seemed to be quite thick, as it showed no sign of tearing when I applied pressure on it with my foot.

(Is this area Helmios told me about? Eagle, go out and check the whole floor.)

Helmios' party was active on the 4th floor, so we already had some information about the floor.

However, I summoned E-rank Bird to confirm if what we had been told was true.

From E-rank Bird's point of view, we were indeed on a lotus-like lead floating on a water surface.

We were on a lotus leaf which had about 1km sq. area.

When I looked through E-rank Bird's awakening skill [Clairvoyance], I found out that the entire floor was a large water mass with many lotus leaves dotted throughout it and adventurers operating on those leaves.

(This entire floor is a water-based floor?)

The 4th floor was a vast water terrain.

"This is exactly what Mr. Helmios told us. Well, we're moving on Griffs, so it doesn't matter to us whether we're on the water or the sand."

"So, will the cube also ask for what Mr. Helmios told us?"

I said the Dungeon Management System was just 'cube', which was contagious as my friends aso started using just that.

"I guess so, Cecile. Let's check it out just in case."

The floor was just as we had heard.

A cube-shaped object was in our view, and we decided to check the conditions for going to the next floor.

"Hello Abandoned Gamers. This is S401, Dungeon Management System. Would you like to go to the next floor? Or to the 1st floor?"

"I want to go to the next floor."

"To go to the 5th floor, please give me 5 types of Bronze Medals, Iron Medals and Mithril Medals each."

(Not just 5, but 5 different kinds of each class?)

It was just 'number of Medals required' while going from 2nd floor to 3rd and 3rd to 4th.

"Does that mean we can't each go with 5 medals of the same kind?"

"Yes, that's right. We cannot guide you to the 5th floor unless we receive 5 Medals, each with a different design."

"How many types of Floor Bosses are there on floors 2 through 4?"

"Each of the 5 types."

"I guess that means we have to defeat the S-rank Floor Bosses."

We had to defeat all the different Floor Bosses to get to the next floor.

That would include the S-rank Floor Bosses like Beebe on the 2nd floor and Scarlett on the 3rd floor.

Helmios had told me that he had abandoned the idea of going to the 5th floor a long time ago.

If he tried hard enough with his party, Helmios could defeat S-rank Floor Bosses and make it to the 5th floor.

But that included the risk of him losing his party members.

So, Helmios second-guessed.

"We now know the conditions to go to the next floor. Let's see what the 4th floor looks like."

We decided to stroll through the 4th floor to determine whether to stay on the 4th floor or or return to the 3rd floor.

I summoned B-rank Birds and began to move, flying in the sky.

"It seems that Golems are very useful here too. That's amazing."

"Cecile, dwarves fight against the Demon King's army at sea, so of course they are useful here too."

At sea, a Golem piloted by a dwarf was transformed for maritime use.

It appeared to be the same shape as those that could run on sand.

I wonder if the dwarves pushed the battle against the Demon King's army to sea to make the battle advantageous for them.

In front of me was a B-rank Bird in which Merle was riding alone.

For a while after Merle joined us, she rode the B-rank Birds with us to protect us in the rear guard by using a large shield.

However, after Merle got her Iron Golem, she was in the vanguard with Kurena and Dogora.

Merle, in particular, who operates a huge Golem, had a huge shield in itself for us who were in the rearguard.

The difference between Kurena and Dogora, who were small and flexible, brought more diversity to our tactics.

Then, saying "Merle's gone." Cecile started sitting behind me as if it were a matter of course.

Since Kiel and the two-rider team of Sophie and Formar were the rear guard, the middle guard position with me seemed to be easier to attack.

"Mm, there's a magical beast over there!"

I shouted loudly because of the distance.

An E-rank Bird discovered three magical beasts that looked halfway between a newt and a Dragon resting on a leaf.

(I thought there were a lot of aquatic magical beasts on this floor.)

Helmios told me that this floor had many aquatic magical beasts in line with the water terrain.

And he said that the 4th floor contained mostly A-rank magical beasts.

Kurena, Dogora, and Merle closed the distance to the magical beast.

"Tam-Tam Descend!"

Merle raised hre Magic Board on B-rank Bird with both hands and shouted.

A huge magic circle floated above the leaves, and at once a huge Iron Golem appeared.

Then, Merle, as she was accustomed to doing, held the Magic Board over the crystal part on the chest of the Iron Golem while riding B-rank Bird, and entered the Golem as if she were sucked into it.

The magical beasts were already aware of our presence, so all three of them rushed towards us ready for battle.

One of the approaching magical beasts was held back by an Iron Golem piloted by Merle, who had reached 20 meters.

[Name] Tam-Tam

[Pilot] Merle

[Rank] Iron

[Strength] 3000+1800

[Mana] 3000 + 1800

[Attack] 3000 + 4000

[Endurance] 3000 + 3800

[Agility] 3000

[Intelligence] 3000 + 1800

[Luck] 3000

On the 3rd floor, we found a Stone Slab for Giant size.

When the Stone Slab, which was the size of two Stone Slabs, was inserted, the Iron Golem, which was 10 meters tall, became 20 meters tall and doubled all of its statuses.

With Merle's Skill Levels and Level having reached the Level cap, the Iron Golem had gained enough [Endurance] to keep even A-rank magical beasts at bay.

In terms of [Attack], Kurena and Dogora had the advantage because of their weapons, but it was still able to fulfill the role of a Tank.

Kurena and Dogora hunted down the magical beast while Merle restrained it and kept it from moving.

Cecile and Formar also attacked from a distance, reducing their number by one.

And there was just one left.

"All right, you're the last one!"

Dogora ran towards the magical beast with great vigor.

"Hey, hey, hey. Wait. Hold on..."

I heard an unusual shout from Sophie.

(Hmm? What?!???)

"Hey, duck. Dogora! Behind you!"

I spoke louder as I warned him.

The Salamander at Sophie's chest, which had been out of the battle for a long time, turned into a bright red, huge mass of flame and plunged towards the magical beasts.

"So, Lady Sofiarone!"

Sophie momentarily lost her consciousness and hung down, and Formar, who was behind her, voiced his concern and held Sophie down with both hands to keep her from falling to the ground.

It seemed that the Salamander had sucked all the mana out of Sophie.

"Hmm? Over there!!"

I struggled to control the B-rank Birds, but couldn't in time.

B-rank Birds disappeared in a glowing bubble under the Salamander's attack.

Dogora was burning as he jumped up like a cartoon.

The last magical beast was instantly defeated by the Salamander's attack, the leaves were burned so badly that the surface of the water looked large, and the water surface was boiling extensively.

"I am sorry, I did it again."

Sophie regains consciousness and apologizes desperately for the devastation.

The place was a hellscape of extensively burned leaves and steam like a boiling, seething kiln, which reduced visibility.