GUARD BREAK!
Chill out, Dverg.
You could've killed the poor girl.
Don't let your Skill just take the reins.
Did I... lose control of myself? Fighting against this little girl?!
Are you okay, Mister Dverg?
Well done, Krena. You've bested me.
Huh?
Please accept my apologies.
Here, this is yours now.
Um... what?
Well, it seems Lord Dverg has admitted defeat, which makes Sword Lord Krena the victor!
I lost to him again...
Worried about your friend?
You have my thanks for saving Krena's life.
Alright, folks!
It's time for today's final match!
Omigosh! Sir Helmios!
The Hero is a special person in this world.
Hundreds of thousands have lost their lives to the Demon Lord's army
as doomsday seems to loom ever closer,
but the Hero is basically a savior sent by the Gods themselves.
Praise be the Hero!
History speaks for itself. Helmios first took to the battlefield at age 15,
and he's still holding the Demon Lord's army at bay even now at age 24.
It's no wonder that people consider him a beacon of hope.
But none of that matters right now.
'Cuz I'm about to wipe that stupid smirk on his face and take that sweet MP recovery ring for myself!
Y'know, this tournament will probably make you as famous as me.
Hah. As if that's a good thing.
You'll get used to the attention quickly. I know from experience.
I'm not a fan of senseless battles.
How about you just surrender now? I guarantee you'll hurt less in the morning.
Aren't you just hilarious?
I imagine you wasted a lot of time and effort to prepare for this, but trust me, you can't win.
Effort is never wasted because it compounds.
Okay, then.
Let's see what it all adds up to.
Oh hell!
He's so fast!
I can't believe he parried that!
The Hero must be holding back.
Gotta be sure not to accidentally kill the kid.
Damn, I can't afford to take any hits.
It's crazy how powerful he is without using any Skills!
Huh? Well, that's weird.
From what I can see, you shouldn't have enough
endurance to withstand my attacks.
So, what's the deal?
Beats me.
It's because you can't see my summon buffs
with your Appraisal Skill.
Fine. Let's keep going!
What's wrong?
I haven't used any Skills, but you're already having a hard time.
Guess I gave you too much credit!
Why isn't that kid doing anything to counter?
Seems like the Sword Lord girl would have put up a better fight.
We're on par in terms of agility.
Fighting normally isn't going to work here.
I need to trip him up!
It's go time, Drago!
Okay!
Dra-rah-rah-rah!
Whoa there.
Now I get to hit back!
HOLY CRAP, A DRAGON!
Monsters are attacking!
It's finally my time to shine!
Yeah!
That actually hurt. You pack a harder punch than I expected.
I did some damage.
But his armor blocked most of it. That's orichalcum for you.
So, this is your Talent in action.
Summoners have some awfully large friends, I see.
No mercy for anybody who threatens my master!
Wow, Sir Allen!
He can summon dragons now!
What a madman. He's using the Hero to test out his new abilities.
He's not sweating this at all.
P-p-please calm down, folks!
The Headmaster has informed me this is one of Allen's Summoner Skills!
The match will continue!
Go, Drago! Use your Awakened Skill!
Okay!
Oh no! Sir Helmios!
Toasty.
He can fly?!
Heal.
And use healing magic, apparently.
That's three of his Skills I know about now.
Normal mode should give him six Skills total.
And one of them has to be an attack type.
Interesting.
I can't see the stats of your summon creatures, like I can with monsters.
That's the last hit you're getting on me!
I can fly faster the dragons, y'know.
Thanks for putting some distance between us.
Wally Blaster!
Oh my God, the Hero blew up!
Nooo!
I should've figured he would use that against the Hero...
Hey, that seriously hurt!
I tried to warn you earlier. That's what you get for not listening.
Not again.
Somebody stop that kid!
He's going to kill Sir Helmios!
Please keep it together, folks!
This new Skill kicks ass. I'm loving it.
Quick Summon!
Before, it would take up to 10 seconds
for me to summon just a single creature.
But thanks to Quick Summon, it's practically instant now!
It only requires me to visualize which creature and how many I want to summon.
I can even swap my entire inventory of 70 cards in the blink of an eye.
Of course, I gotta be conscious of how much it eats into my stock of MP and magic stones.
But being able to summon so fast that my opponent never notices is huge!
It's pretty damn OP.
Being in Hell Mode is paying off!
Your turn, Cerby! Use your Awakened Skill!
Cerby?
Yessir!
As you command!
Ninefold Crunch!
Another giant monster!
First a dragon and now a cerberus?!
This is just like fighting the Demon Lord's army!
No blood?
Drago! Fire Breath!
Cerby! Ninefold Crunch!
Heal.
Man, that hurt! Gotta use a Frond of Life.
Well, fighting a Summoner is interesting.
You've forced me to step it up.
Friendly advice. Surrender now if you want to live, Allen.
This is one attack that I can't cut back on.
Surely you jest.
Here comes his sixth Hero Skill! The attack type!
Phoenix Blade.
Cerby! Drago!
Prepare to eat dirt, Hero.
Quick Summon!
Way to go, Mirror! Now use Reflect!
Defeating the Undefeatable 101: Use their own attacks against them.
It was risky in terms of our stats,
but you really held fast, Mirror!
Incredible.
You were waiting for that opportunity this whole time?
Want to throw in the towel?
I'm ready to reflect every attack that you throw at me now!
Gotta admit, that's scary.
The Sovereign of Spirits was right about everything.
Wow, just wow!
This is great news, seriously.
Hope isn't lost. Humanity still has a chance!
The war was starting to seem endless.
I was stuck chasing the Demon Lord's shadow.
There were no more trials for me to pass or better equipment for me to obtain.
I lost countless comrades.
Only for new ones to join me as I got sent back to the frontlines over and over.
Why? Because I'm humanity's hero.
I'm not allowed to give up.
Even if the only hope that I have left is entirely superficial.
Helmios, my boy. Take that ring with you.
It'll be important when you two cross paths and he renews the hope inside you.
"Humanity still has a chance"?
Funny thing for the beacon of hope to say.
Good point.
Well, guess this is where I teach you that you're still way out of your league.
Oh, please. I've already had enough of that for a lifetime.
Shucks! You sure are powerful, Mister Hero.
Just hurry and fork over that ring, dammit!
I'm wasting magic stones here!
Aw, don't be like that.
Just one more attack, I promise.
Oh no, is he using his Extra Skill?!
No way...!
Sir Allen's in trouble.
Sir Helmios...
Oh, jeez. Dverg was bad enough.
Why do they all have to be such sore losers?!
This is bad. I'm not prepared to take on his Extra Skill!
Do I even stand a chance of surviving?!
Ready or not!
This is the best that humanity has to offer!
HOLY SWORD!
Sir Allen!
Allen!
Still alive over there?
Whaddya think? Pretty epic attack, right?
He almost killed me!
Okay, that's it! He's dead friggin' meat!
I'll strip that ring off his corpse!
Get outta here! You have Elven healing potions?!
Yep, sure do.
Oh, c'mon. We're done here, aren't we?
You should know better than to punch above your weight.
Call it quits already.
So what if you're stronger than me?
Quitting just closes the door to victory.
And what if the only thing waiting for you beyond that door is despair?
What kinda question is that?!
Oh, wait, I get it.
He's been facing a hopeless cause for most of his life.
Even after hitting the level cap, he had to keep fighting as humanity's only hope.
If despair is what I face after beating you, then that's just the next thing I'll find a way to beat!
"Overcome despair," huh?
I'm not sure anything really comes after that.
Tell me. Who are you, exactly?
You want to know who I am?
From what I hear, the Demon Lord likes to calls himself "Demon Lord of the End."
Which makes me...
Allen, Summoner of the Beginning!
"Summoner of the Beginning"?!
I just made that up on the fly.
Here.
Huh? What?!
You're just letting me have it?
Well, the Sovereign of Spirits instructed me to give it to the Summoner of the Beginning.
You're telling me the requirement to unlock the MP recovery ring...
WAS A KEYWORD?!
SHOCK
Hold on, I can't take this if you need it to stay alive...
Oh, no worries about that.
See? A matching pair!
The Sovereign of Spirits is really generous, huh?
Then I will gladly accept it.
So, with that settled...
Oh? Are you ready to go another round?
I surrender.
Yikes! Your Hero powers were just too much for me to handle!
Absolutely no point in fighting now that I have the ring.
What?
Really?
He's surrendering?
That is SUCH an Allen thing to do!
Th-there you have it, folks! Sir Helmios wins the special exhibition match!
Sheesh, you had me worried.
Thank heavens!
You were crazy strong, Allen!
He never ceases to amaze. What a guy.
Yep. He's always been like that.
One week later, the award ceremony was held at a hotel.
It was a most impressive tournament.
I'm pleased to see you're all developing into truly formidable fighters.
You should continue to train hard, so you'll be ready when the kingdom needs you.
Yessir!
Looks like the prince is on pins and needles,
now that he knows I can summon deadly monsters like dragons.
You there, young Allen...
Yes?
Your fight against the Hero was incredible.
I dare say it was the greatest spectacle in the history of the Academy.
I'm honored to receive such praise, Your Highness.
Viscount Granvelle has quite the mean streak.
How could he keep your extraordinary Talent a secret all this time?
Pardon me for not explaining earlier,
but as you can see, I am an honored guest of the Granvelle family.
Where did he pull that from?! All weapons should've been confiscated!
I owe Viscount Granvelle a great debt of gratitude from my time as serf.
And thus...
I consider it my duty to protect the Granvelles from any threats,
as their ever-faithful bodyguard.
It was only a few months later
when King Ratash passed away and Crown Prince Invel took the throne.
I'm assuming he took my threat seriously, seeing as how we've had no trouble yet.
How dare you! Lowly human scum!
We finally beat a Heavy Dragon without needing Krena's Extra Skill!
It sure took us a long time.
Thanks, Griff!
These B-rank summon creatures have made it much easier for us to beat A-rank dungeons.
Well, yeah, obviously!
Guess what, I leveled up!
Just two more and you'll reach the max, too.
Leveling up must really be a slog for you, huh?
You get used to it.
Whoa!
It's been forever since our last gold treasure chest!
Just an MP Boost Ring, huh?
I guess orichalcum items must only drop in S-rank dungeons.
Congratulations are in order, No-Life Gamers!
There it is!
All of your party members have now cleared five different A-rank dungeons,
so I'm going to upgrade your stamp card into an S-rank dungeon entry pass.
Okay, team! Our goal for the new year is beating an S-rank dungeon!
Yeah!
But soon after that, our plans were derailed by unexpected news.
Everybody's here, Headmaster. Hurry and fill them in.
I'm afraid the five of you have been ordered to join the war effort by royal decree.
Wait, really?!
But we're only in our second year...
That's not all. Princess Sophialohne, Volmaar, and Meruru.
Yes?
Orders came from Rohzenheim and the Baukis Empire. You must return home immediately.
Huh?!
It applies to all the transfer students staying at the Academy.
It says here they're dispatching us to Rohzenheim.
Huh?!
Will you tell us what's going on?
The Demon Lord has mobilized ten million monsters.
It's an invasion force targeting Rohzenheim, the Baukis Empire, and us here on the central continent.
Ten million?!
That's crazy. It's ten times more than we usually see in a year.
Let me give you more context.
Historically, the Demon Lord's army has exclusively attacked the central continent,
since it's the weakest of them all.
Rohzenheim is protected by the Sovereign of Spirits,
while the Baukis Empire has a stalwart line of golem defenders.
However, the arrival of the Hero has thrown all of that out of balance.
The Elves have an army of 1.6 million.
That's fewer troops than either neighboring continent,
and worse yet, they've dispatched most of their healers to help elsewhere.
That's likely why Rohzenheim is now being targeted.
A month ago, three million of the Demon Lord's troops invaded Rohzenheim,
and they've already captured over half of the Elves' territory.
What about my mother? Is the Queen safe?!
I need to know!
The capital city of Fortenia...
fell three days ago.
I'm afraid the whereabouts of Her Highness...
are still unclear.
This can't be happening.
Princess Sophialohne!
Three million, huh?
The Demon Lord must've been keeping forces in reserve for years leading up to this.
The most recent report said the survivors are preparing for a last stand down south.
The very fate of Rohzenheim is now on the line.
Well, that explains why we've been ordered to go there.
But if the invasion started a month ago, why are we only hearing about it now?
We Elves detest the idea of other races stepping foot into our lands.
That isolationist mindset runs throughout our leadership and led to a disastrously late decision.
Sorry, but what about the Baukis Empire and everywhere else?
The battles on the other fronts haven't begun just yet.
Two million monsters stand at the border of the central continent.
Meanwhile, one million monsters are camped outside the Baukis Empire.
What are they waiting for? Why wouldn't they just attack all at once?
What are the healer Elves stationed on the central continent doing?
They got new orders and are making their way back to Rohzenheim as we speak.
That explains it. The monsters on the central continent are waiting for the healers to leave.
So you're saying our army will have to stave off two million monsters with no healers?
That's impossible!
The Hero will help to make up for it.
But we have over fifty manned fortresses along the frontlines, don't we?
There's no way the Hero can protect all of them.
If I may, you said earlier the Demon Lord has an army of ten million, yes?
But I'm only counting six million from what you've explained so far.
The remaining four million that we assume to be reserves have been spotted off the coast of the central continent.
Four million more?!
And they're right on our doorstep?!
I'm starting to think we should go to the Giamutan Empire instead.
Because if that falls, then the Ratash Kingdom will be next.
What?!
You're right. Most people here don't even know about the Demon Lord!
It would be pure chaos!
That's a good point.
You all have families to think of.
What should we do, Allen?
As far as I'm concerned, there's only one option.
We work together to save Rohzenheim.
Huh?!
EPISODE 18: SHOWDOWN AT THE ACADEMY TOURNAMENT!
NAME: ALLEN
TALENT: SUMMONER
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
SKILLS:
SUMMON, CREATE, FUSE, ENHANCE,
AWAKEN, EXPANSION, STORAGE, SHARE,
QUICK SUMMON, DEPUTIZE (N/A),
DELETE, SWORD MASTERY, THROW
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
RING SLOT 1: AGILITY
RING SLOT 2: AGILITY
ACTUAL STATS
DRAGON B
ATTACK AGILITY
NAME: DRAGO
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
BUFFS: ATTACK
AGILITY
BREATH DAMAGE RESISTANCE (HIGH)
ABILITY: FIRE BREATH
AWAKENED ABILITY: HELLFIRE OF FURY
HELLFIRE OF FURY
SKILLS: HERO
(STAT BOOSTER TYPE)
APPRAISAL
FLIGHT
HEAL
EEEEK!
STONE E STONE E
CREATE
FUSE
ENHANCE SHARE
AWAKEN
SUMMON
QUICK SUMMON
ABOUT
0 SECONDS
BEAST B
HP + 100 ATTACK + 100
ABILITY: REFLECT
DOUBLES ENDURANCE STAT AND REFLECTS
PHYSICAL DAMAGE IT TAKES BACK ON ITS OPPONENT.
DOES NOT ACTIVATE IF DEFEATED.
AWAKENED SKILL -FROND OF LIFE-
RESTORES 1,000 HP
Dammit!
PEACHY'S ABILITY -BLESSING OF EARTH-
FULLY HEALS ONE TARGET'S HP AND MP.
REGENERATES ANY LOST LIMBS.
WINGING IT
THE HARDCORE GAMER DOMINATES
IN ANOTHER WORLD WITH GARBAGE BALANCING
ALLEN: AGE 14
DECEMBER
NAME: GRIFF
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
BUFFS: AGILITY
INTELLIGENCE
ABILITY: FLY
JANUARY
ROYAL DECREE:
SUMMONER ALLEN
SWORD LORD KRENA
WIZARDESS CECIL GRANVELLE
AXE USER DOGORA
CLERIC KEEL