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

Chapter 523: Trip to the Shrines

The Sky Ship's control room was thrown into turmoil as Kurena and Allen chased each other.

Cecile eventually had enough of that.

"Allen, enough screwing around. What are we doing next?"

"Hm? Alright, that's enough for today then. Kurena, you live to see another day."

"Hah…I'm beat."

Allen had gained a reputation for having no luck at lotteries, but that was part of life too.

Kurena sat down on the floor, exhausted from all the running, while Allen turned around.

"Alright, where would you like to go first?"

The Sky Ship pilot Piyon asked Allen where to go.

(That's the issue. I thought we'd only have the Spirit Paradise as an option at first.)

Allen wanted to visit various locations. Thanks to all the ghosts he had hunted, and Kiel's good luck, now they had many other destinations available.

"Piyon, are there ghosts in the Temples as well?"

"Of course. This screen here shows all the nearby ghost swarms."

Past the circular wheel near the steering seat were many screens, which helped avoid ghosts.

That also correlated with what Merus had said, there were ghosts in the Temples too.

Allen looked at the rest of his party next.

"I doubt they'll be as strong as Nestiad, but I believe there will be strong ghosts ahead too."

"Makes sense."

Helmios agreed.

"It's also important for you to reach the Gods you venerate though, so I believe we should split off. Just don't push yourselves too hard."

"Don't worry Allen. You're the only one who does stupid things."

Cecile said that only Allen would willingly go get half killed by Nestiad.

"I don't know how safe it could be to act on our own, maybe it's best if Temi goes to see the God of Divination?"

Allen did not want them to go wandering around alone, but splitting up was also more efficient.

"Well, I'd like to go there, but I'd rather meet the Beast God first."

Temi was the leader of the Ten Heroic Beasts, and they would go to the Paradise of Primordial Beasts first.

"What? I just want to see the God of Music though?"

Lepe was also a singer, and he did not seem to care about the Beast God. Lepe always had that kind of attitude, so Temi did not say anything.

"And Rosalina…"

"Do you have to ask? Of course I'm going to meet the God of Music Sopra."

She replied before Allen could finish his sentence. It seemed like everyone who was a singer had a strong attitude like that.

"Alright, then Kiel, Dogora, and Ignomas will take Rosalina there."

"Hm? I see."

Dogora nodded, but Shea had a stronger reaction. Dogora had become the strongest member of the party, so he was best suited to be their body guard. But this would also mean they would be separated after being together for a long time, since Shea would go see the Beast God.

"Hey, what am I going to do?"

Galara then raised his voice, none of the Divine Compasses helped him.

"Why don't you check on the God of Earth Gaia?"

"Hm? But we aren't really related, and I don't pray to him at all."

"Wouldn't it be a good match for golems though? Also, we're out of Spirit Crystal Stones for now. Merle, you go with Admiral Galara."

"Okay. got it."

Digragni had brought Merle into Extra Mode, but maybe Gaia could give her something more.

Allen had used up multiple Spirit Crystal Stones for this, so he wanted to gain all he could from it.

"Also, make sure you're always respectful to the Gods."

Helmios did not want to get divine punishment because of Allen.

[Groups that split in the divine realm]

-Gods of Swords and Bows: Kurena, Haku, and Helmios' party

-Beast God: Shea, Ten Heroic Beasts (Except Lepe)

-God of Earth: Merle, Galara's party

-God of Music: Kiel, Dogora, Rosalina, Ignomas, Lepe

-Great Spirit God: Allen, Cecile, Sophie, Formar, Luck

(The groups are actually more even than I thought.)

"Sorry for keeping you waiting, Piyon. Just let us off whenever a destination is nearby."

Eventually Allen addressed Piyon again, who was being treated like a taxi driver given a route.

"The Temples of Gods are always constantly moving around the divine realm, so it's hard to say which one is closest. The only exception is the Spirit Paradise that is always in a set location."

(What?)

Hearing that, Allen turned to look at the Spirit God, who was sleeping on top of Sophie's head.

Maybe he had anticipated he would be asked something and was sleeping to avoid that.

They did not require a Divine Compass to reach the Spirit Paradise, but maybe actually getting into it was a different matter that was complicated to explain.

(Though well, if I need a Compass to enter anyway, then I guess it's alright.)

They probably could not navigate anywhere in the divine realm without Divine Compasses.

"I see. Then let's start with the Paradise of Primordial Beasts, and we'll end at the Spirit Paradise."

"Understood. Could I have the Divine Compass?"

Allen gave Piyon the Beast God's Divine Compass, and he affixed it to the wheel.

The wheel began to spin a few times until it finally stopped, having found their heading.

"Prepare for departure then. There's a lot of Spirit Stones in the reactor, so we might accelerate very quickly. Make sure you're holding onto your seats properly."

Everyone went to their seats and held onto the security bars in front, which resembled the seats of a rollercoaster. Meanwhile Piyon pressed on a touchscreen and the engine turned on.

The chains holding the Sky Ship onto the palace were released and it began flying, heading north.

"Wait! Are you sure this is safe?!"

Inertia was pressing Cecile's body against her seat.

"Yes, it's safe. Just make sure you don't let go. The anti-inertia systems should stabilize soon."

"This feels almost like a fighter jet."

"What's that?"

"We're going above Mach 1."

"You're not making any sense."

Merle's Tam-Tam could fly like an airplane, but the Sky Ship was much faster.

Allen had never been on a fighter jet before, but he was convinced they were going faster than the speed of sound.

(At least this should allow us to travel fast enough. The faster the better.)

Like Piyon said, after some time the interior of the Sky Ship stabilized, everyone being able to move however they wanted.

Dogora and Shea went to search for a room large enough to train in.

Allen remained in the control room, looking out of the window. There was an island a few kilometers wide ahead.

"There seem to be a lot of floating islands. Are there Gods in them too?"

In response, Piyon looked through the screens.

"No, that island isn't being occupied by a God. There seem to be ghosts on it though."

One of the screens looked like a ghost radar.

3 hours later Allen saw an enormous landmass ahead.

(This looks like a place where dinosaurs might live. It seems to be more than 1000 kilometers wide.)

Eventually the Divine Compass led them to a large landmass. Kuwatoro's Thousand-mile Eyes were not enough to see the other end of it. Higher Gods usually lived in places like that.

There was also a volcano there, spewing lava that flowed downhill.

The surface was also covered in lush greenery and tall trees with vines, like a rainforest.

(There's no monsters in the divine realm, so are those Sacred Beasts? Or ghosts?)

Allen could not tell if he had to attack those or not. He was desperate to get Spirit Crystal Stones to recover the trust he had lost after participating in the Divine Compass Lottery.

"All Shrines have a landing platform. We're about to arrive, so try to stay in your seats."

Piyon spoke into a magic device which repeated his words through the entire Sky Ship.

Sometimes divine people would be summoned to Shrines, so they had landing pads for them.

The Sky Ship began to slow down before landing there. Then Piyon pressed a few times on a screen and stairs appeared on one side so Allen's group could disembark.

Once they reached the ground, they found a large beast waiting for them.

He had a muscular body, covered in fur except on the chest, and had his arms crossed.

(That's a gorilla. I seem to remember a Sacred Beast that was also a gorilla.)

Allen looked at that gorilla that was around 10 meters tall.

'I'm the Sacred Beast Luvanka. The Heavenly King told me about you. Follow me.'

Not waiting for a reply, Luvanka turned around and waddled away on all fours.

(So the Heavenly King can contact the gods.)

"It seems he'll show us the way. Lady Shea, let's go with him."

"A-alright."

"Shea, I'll give you a Tsubamen and Okiyo just in case. Take care."

"Thank you."

Allen gave them a Bird A summon and a Wraith A summon with Growth Level 9 so they had a way to contact him or escape if necessary.

There could be enemies that not even an S Rank summon could defeat there, but at least they would be able to escape, and it would also give Allen a bit more peace of mind.

Shea and the Ten Heroic Beasts, with the exception of Lepe, disembarked there, and then the Sky Ship took off again.

"Where to next?"

Piyon asked in the control room.

"Let's see…take us to the God of Swords next."

"Understood. We'll head to the Divine Realm's Arena."

(That sounds kinda cool.)

Piyon placed the God of Swords' Divine Compass on the wheel.

After half a day they arrived there. The sun had already set, and the moon and stars shone on the sky.

"We've arrived, everyone."

Allen had been in a corner of the control room, making Heaven's Blessings.

"It's a bit too dark to see anything."

"I know. I think there's someone standing at the landing zone though?"

Cecile and Sophie, who had been helping Allen, looked out of the window.

There were two figures standing next to the landing pad, holding long weapons.

"I guess we should talk to them for now. Let's go out."

Allen's group stepped out into the Divine Realm's Arena.