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

Chapter 370

"A monster? Where was it seen?"

Allen asked the man who was out of breath after running all the way to the chief's residence.

"In the stables! We don't know what type of monster it is!!"

Apparently a group of people who wanted to work on the farms had checked the stables.

Since it was still the beginning of their stay there, there was no livestock in the city or the island yet.

They just wanted to check out the various facilities, but then found what they thought was a large horse, and at closer inspection they realized it was a monster.

While the stables were outside the city, the island itself was pretty small so it was not too hard to run from there and get to the chief's residence.

The man had run non-stop.

"Tell me exactly where you saw it. Can you point at the building on this map?"

"Uhh here, this stable."

There was a map of Erle on the wall already.

Allen had ordered the construction of around five different stables, so he wanted to know which one to check.

"You should all come with me too. It somehow got through the Gold Beans' barrier, so we can't let our guard down."

They had planted Gold Beans all over the entire island, creating a barrier that not even A Rank monsters could cross.

Maybe one of the townsfolk had accidentally lured it here.

Or the monster just happened to get caught inside somehow.

It was hard to say exactly what had happened, but Allen wanted to clear that up by seeing the monster.

If it had entered by its own will, then it could be an S Rank monster.

Once they were out of the city's center and the commercial district, Allen called Bird B summons in an open space and everyone climbed on them to check the stables.

"It's in there? The building doesn't look damaged though?"

As they landed next to the building, Cecile asked from behind Allen.

There were no signs of the monster forcing its way inside the stable.

"We've barely seen anything yet. Stay sharp, everyone."

Allen and Shea took the lead, while the rest followed behind them.

Holding their weapons ready, they peeked inside the stable. There was a creature there, resembling a horse but not being one exactly.

The creature and Allen's eyes met.

"Oh, I remember who this is."

Shea was not the only one who recognized it. Its entrance had been so striking that it was burned in the memories of everyone present.

'...'

Everyone stared at it, sitting calmly on the floor, its body covered in scales and horns growing from its head.

Its round eyes were looking intently at Allen.

"W-why are you here, Arbiter God?"

(No point in thinking hard about it. We built the stables, the people wanted to look at it, and at some point the Arbiter God walked into the space for horses.)

It was a sight too surreal for Allen to comprehend.

The Arbiter God was nearly twice as large as a regular horse, and it simply sat in the stable, looking at Allen.

The stables had been built for regular horses, so Allen began to feel like it might be too narrow for the Arbiter God.

'It seems Kurena isn't with you today.'

The Arbiter God Pharnemes spoke with a gentle voice, almost femenine sounding, asking about Kurena.

Its eyes kept moving between Allen and his friends.

Apparently Pharnemes had come looking for Kurena.

"She's not. Shall I bring her here?"

She was fighting Iron Golems alongside Dogora.

'I see, it's fine, there's no need for that.'

Saying that, the Arbiter God turned its head and curled up, sleeping in the small stable.

"What on earth is going on? Why is the Arbiter God in our stable, actually is it sleeping now?"

Allen had decided to roll with it, but Cecile was still baffled.

"I mean, it should be fine to keep her together with the horses. I guess this isn't too different from Haku, let's call her Phar."

It would be bad if the townsfolk heard about the Arbiter God, since they were supposed to place all their faith on Freya.

That was why Allen came up with the nickname Phar, to keep it in the stables.

There was a chance the Arbiter God would leave at any moment, but just to make its stay more comfortable, he ordered the barrier between two stalls to be taken out, giving Pharnemes enough space.

Now he just had to tell the townsfolk to bring water and fodder to the Arbiter God like they would to any regular horse.

"I feel like this island is getting crazier by the day."

Cecile sighed seeing Allen treat the Arbiter God like just a rare beast.

"No, this is just proof of Master Allen's power!"

'...'

(No, I had nothing to do with this. Hm? What's wrong with Rosen?)

Sophie clenched her fist as she imagined the island's future, but the Spirit God had a rather melancholy look as it watched the Arbiter God.

Ten days passed since then.

"Phar~ are you really eating?"

'Kurena, yes I am.'

Pharnemes answered with a gentle voice.

As they spoke, Kurena took some carrot-like vegetables and fed them to the Arbiter God.

Gods had no need for physical sustenance, but just like how the Spirit God would always gorge on nuts, other gods had nothing against eating every once in a while.

Kurena seemed more willing to return to the island, now that Phar and Haku were there.

There was one thing that had made trips from and to the island easier.

Kingship allowed a Bird A summon to use its skills not just once every day, but once every hour.

Allen had accounted for constant trips to the island, so he made sure to renew the [Nest] every hour.

Kurena would constantly return to Heavy User Island, mount on a Bird B summon, and go check on Haku or talk with Phar.

(Now, I wonder why the Arbiter God decided to stay on this island.)

Allen tried asking the Spirit God if he knew why the Arbiter God had decided to stay on the island.

Or if he had at least a hunch as to why that could be the case.

According to Rosen, it was likely that there was no place for the Arbiter God in the Divine Realm anymore.

While the Arbiter God had been known as a Higher God, it had the duty of judging other gods, giving it a rather awkward place in the Divine Realm.

Having Elmea's orders to judge other gods was not an easy task to fulfill, that was corroborated by Merus too.

Now even the demi-gods were losing their power.

Somehow their power was being drained as the Demon King attempted to resurrect the Evil God.

Merus and Rosen agreed that it was likely the Arbiter God was merely trying to rest and gather back its power.

The Spirit God begged Allen to let it stay there and rest for as long as it needed.

A new group of townsfolk was going to arrive today, so all the Abandoned Gamers' members were gathered.

During the last ten days, Peromus had undergone a Talent Change, obtaining a wealthy merchant's Talent.

Raven and Rita went from having no Talent to being a Swordsman and Thief.

Milsy went from Monk to Saint.

Even though Peromus was the mayor uniting the four cities in Heavy User Island, he still kept going to the dungeons.

Chester had approved of him, but he had not gained Fiona's heart yet.

Fiona claimed she was only interested in strong men, so he worked hard to undergo a Talent Change.

Peromus was busy looking over the island's cities, while also keeping his business in check, and going to the dungeons.

Allen knew how busy he was, so he made sure the cities' chiefs could keep most of the things moving smoothly without Peromus having to be constantly there.

He wanted to lessen the load on Peromus as much as possible.

Peromus was constantly visiting the dungeons near the Academy on the surface.

He relied on Allen to get him there and back to the island.

"Well, isn't it about time you try asking Fiona out again?"

Allen watched Kurena feeding Phar as he asked Peromus. Allen had done everything he could to help him.

"Y-yeah, I uhh…I guess I could. Though I'd like to be in the dungeons a bit longer."

He had not tried again after Fiona rejected him the first time.

Now that he had Changed Talents, he was working with the elves to level up, and wanted to be ready before talking to her again.

Allen felt like Peromus was the only one having a love life.

The load on Allen had also diminished, so he was going to the S Rank Dungeon more often too.

His first objective was to gather +5000 rings for all 5000 members of Allen's Army.

He also wanted to get hihiirokane weapons for everyone, or even adamantite ones if possible.

Once the rings and their equipment were all renewed, they should be able to fight A Rank monsters without much issue.

"I heard Shea isn't going to Change Talents for now?"

"She has a meeting with her father. She said she'll do it once that's done."

Changing Talents dropped one's Level back to 1, and she wanted to keep her stats for the time being.

There was a meeting for the Five Continents' Alliance, and Allen's party had been invited to attend as well.

"Well, let's go to Murha then."

Allen saw through his Shared vision with Merus that preparations were almost ready.

While Allen's friends were watching Phar, the dark elves in Fabraze had been getting things ready to send the refugees up to Heavy User Island.

Allen's party mounted on Bird B summons and headed to the east.

Murha, a city smaller than Erle, was already built there.

The people who would be living there came from the desert, so the houses were made out of dirt bricks built up into dome shapes.

There was no desert on the island, but Allen felt like it was important to make them feel at home.

'I've brought them.'

"Is…is this our new home?"

"So that's the mountain where our Goddess Freya is."

"It's quite a refreshing place, just like we heard."

Merus could also see what Allen saw, so he had made sure to time the transportation for when Allen was ready.

As soon as Allen's party landed, the 2000 people appeared there.

They were the refugees from Luqoack, and the neighboring areas of the Muharino desert that had fallen under the Pagan Worshipper attack.

They all had tanned skin from the strong desert sun, and wore loose and well-ventilated clothes, so they quickly felt the island's fresh breeze.

"Hello, you must be the chief of Murha."

Allen spoke to the person designated as chief.

He had been chosen in the same way as Erle's chief.

Using a Wraith A summon, Allen had surveyed the shelter built by dark elves, picking an elderly man who looked capable enough.

And just like in Erle, once everyone had settled in their new homes, he called a meeting where he explained everything about the island.

The island was slowly growing in population, and becoming more lively.