They were in the divine realm now. Helmios and Galara gathered around Allen to hear his plans.
"Alright, let's talk a bit about what we'll do then."
Allen sat down on the clouds, and told Merus to send the armies away from the temple.
"It's so softttt."
'Gyau.'
Kurena started rolling around with Haku.
"Kurena, you worked hard fighting the Dragon King, so let's talk while we eat."
(It really is soft. And I guess there's no rain or cloudy days here.)
It was almost like having a picnic under the sun. Galara also felt that way, taking out drinks from his magic bag and sharing them with his party.
"Ohh…"
Merle looked at them with jealousy.
"Merle, you can enjoy the scenery with a drink if you want."
"Huh? Really?!! Yayyy!!"
Receiving permission from Allen, Merle went to Galara's party, where they gave her a wooden mug to drink. Rosetta from Helmios' party also joined them.
Rosetta and Merle had become drinking buddies since they met in the S Rank Dungeon, and they went to various places together in their free days.
As everyone enjoyed their picnic and settled down, Allen spoke again.
"Anyway, I need your help with something, which is why I brought all of you here."
Allen had wanted to enter the divine realm with an army of 10000, but Megadeth stopped that.
If such a large number of people were admitted, it would nullify the need for the Gates of Trials.
But Desperado allowed for some people to enter..
"You want us to do something here?"
Helmios had a hunch of what Allen would ask for.
"So there's something you can't do, and your party isn't enough either."
Galara also had an idea.
"Pretty much yes. To put it simply, I want you to form pacts with Gods and enter Extra Mode."
Allen continued explaining. All their parties and armies together had succeeded in destroying all the strongholds, which were tall like mountains. They had also seized all the research and items from the rubble, stopping the Demon King's Army's advances.
By that point Cecile also started getting an idea of what Allen wanted to say.
"But now we don't know what they'll try next. We need to become stronger and be ready."
"That's true, so far the Demon King's Army didn't really care much about us, but that's gonna change."
The Demon King was very methodical, and no one knew the extent of his plans.
So far they always acted ahead, while Allen and the rest had to catch up to them.
The invasion of Rosenheim was a smokescreen to steal Freya's Divine Artifact, the Evil Cult was created to offer souls to the Evil God, and the attack on Prostia was so the Demon King could gain the power of the resurrected Evil God. The Demon King had done all that to become stronger, and it was obvious he would use that power to plunge the world into chaos.
Allen had destroyed all the strongholds in the Central Continent, so now it was hard to say what they would do next. At least Allen knew there were hundreds of Demon Generals, and the Demon King's power seemed endless. If they were allowed to continue with their plans, Allen would never be able to stop them. Kyubel had said that Allen's actions merely delayed his plans a little after all.
"So we need to become stronger as soon as possible, and that's why we're here now."
Helmios understood why Allen was so desperate. He did not know how much time they had left.
"Yes. Things haven't exactly gotten better yet, so I want as many of us to form pacts with Gods and escape Normal Mode."
Galara walked up to Allen and sat down in front of him, a mug in his hand.
"But how do you want us to do that? Forming a pact with a God isn't so easy."
Allen had explained before what he meant with Normal Mode, so Galara caught up quickly.
"I know it won't be easy, but it's our best option to get stronger."
"I see, so you found the way, and now it's our job to be successful."
Demon Generals were a menace to anyone in Normal Mode. Even orichalcum equipment could be underwhelming against the Demon King's Army. They were pressed for time, so all of them would need to find their own way to become stronger in the divine realm.
They would not split up just yet, but they would need to all carry their own weight eventually.
"So that's why you invited the Ten Heroic Beasts as well then."
Shea also understood Allen's plan. He was trying to gain as much advantage as he could.
"Exactly."
There was a limit of 100 people so they could not invite just any random person.
"Are you sure it'll work though? I don't know if the Gods will form pacts so easily."
Shea tried to clear her doubt right away. The Gods almost never shared their power before.
Often they also demanded an immense compensation in exchange, like Makris from Prostia.
"But the Gods have their quirks, like their personalities."
"Quirks?"
Allen mentioned how Desperado and Isiris were married. The Gods of that world had their own lives and personalities, so there had to be one good for the dwarven party too.
"Like the God of Wine Bacchus."
Galara muttered as he sloshed his drink inside his mug.
"I'd prefer if you chose Gods that will help with the war. Like the God of War, or maybe the God of Earth Gaia for dwarves, who you already pray to."
Allen did not have anything against the God of Wine, but he wanted to prioritize strength.
Dwarves prayed to Digragni the most now, but before it was either the Goddess of Fire or God of Earth. Allen would prefer if they formed a pact with Gaia, who was one of the Four Great Gods. Dogora had already formed a pact with Freya after all, who was also one of the four.
"So we'll form pacts with Gods, and you'll look for Sacred Beasts."
Cecile mentioned how Allen had a different objective from the rest of them.
"Yes, I'll catch them all."
(I'll become the Sacred Beast Master.)
"Just don't cause much of a scene, alright?"
Cecile sighed, telling Allen to not overdo it.
"Sure. Also be careful while traveling through here. It might not be the safest place."
After that Allen recalled a warning he forgot to give them. Merus had told him some things before.
"Really? Like there's monsters then?"
Galara asked if there were monsters in the divine realm.
"No, apparently the spirits of the dead become wraiths and can become aggressive."
Allen detailed what they had to be careful about.
"Are those strong?"
Galara asked how powerful those enemies could be.
"It can vary a lot, but apparently there's a lot that are A Rank, so always be careful."
This was an unknown world, so he wanted them to be safe. Not all Gods were always friendly, and Merus mentioned wraiths could be powerful enemies. Shortly after the summon that told Allen about the wraiths appeared.
'I've sent everyone back. I can guide you through here now.'
Merus was once Elmea's First Angel, and now he was one of Allen's summons.
He had been listening to the conversation as well, so now he was there to guide them.
"Hm? Ah, right. I'll experiment a bit and then we can go."
Merus would be a good guide.
'I've lived here for 10000 years, this is the first time I've wanted to show someone around.'
Merus had never felt like that before. But he mainly preferred being a guide than spending time in the S Rank Dungeon's dark last floor.
(Now that I'm done talking, I can finally see what Kuwatoro does.)
Allen used the Sacred Bead Points he kept to Create a Bird S summon.
Just like with Makris, he was able to use Create without needing to use Synthesis.
That was likely because Kuwatoro was inside the Sacred Beast Stone.
"I'm sorry, there's some things I'd like to test before we depart."
Allen was done talking with Helmios and Galara, so they could enjoy their picnic in the meantime now.
"Ahh, with Kuwatoro, right?"
Cecile knew Allen for long enough to know what he was thinking of doing.
She knew his time to experiment was about to start.
First he tried to use Growth Level 9 on Kuwatoro, and it worked flawlessly.
Then he put Kuwatoro in his Holder, and he could feel the stats from the Blessing.
He opened his Grimoire to check his stats, smiling as this was always so much fun to do.
"Hm? Spiritual Power?"
Allen noticed there was a new stat listed, right below his Mana.
[Name] Allen
[Age] 16
[Talent] Summoner
[Level] 130
[Strength] 8515 + 19000
[Mana] 13580 + 26000
[Spiritual Power] 0
[Attack] 4756 + 24400
[Endurance] 4756 + 26000
[Agility] 8839 + 46600
[Intelligence] 13590 + 49200
[Luck] 8839 + 12000
[Divine Technique] None
[Skills] Summoner (9), Create (9), Synthesis (9), Strengthening (9), Awakening (9), Growth (9), Grimoire Expansion (8), Inventory, Fast Summon, Equivalent Exchange, Command, Kingship, Sharing, (Sealed), (Sealed), Delete, Swordsmanship (5), Throwing (3)
[Experience] ~30'000'000'000 / 3900'000'000'000'000
-Skill Level:
[Summoner] 9
[Create] 9
[Synthesis] 9
[Strengthening] 9
[Awakening] 9
[Growth] 9
-Skill Experience:
[Create] ~20'000'000'000 / 100'000'000'000
[Synthesis] ~18'000'000'000 / 100'000'000'000
[Strengthening] ~18'000'000'000 / 100'000'000'000
[Awakening] ~15'000'000'000 / 100'000'000'000
[Growth] ~8000'000'000 / 100'000'000'000
-Summons Acquired:
[Insect] Seal A B C D E F G H
[Beast] Seal A B C D E F G H
[Bird] S A B C D E F G
[Grass] Seal A B C D E F
[Stone] Seal A B C D E
[Fish] Seal A B C D
[Wraith] Seal A B C
[Dragon] Seal A B
[Angel] S A
[ - ] S
-Holder (All 90 slots):
[Insect] 8 Total: H x 1, G x 1, F x 1, E x 1, D x 1, C x 1, B x 1, A x 1
[Beast] 8 Total: H x 1, G x 1, F x 1, E x 1, D x 1, C x 1, B x 1, A x 1
[Bird] 21 Total: G x 1, F x 1, E x 1, D x 1, C x 1, B x 1, A x 14, S x 1
[Grass] 6 Total: F x 1, E x 1, D x 1, C x 1, B x 1, A x 1
[Stone] 5 Total: E x 1, D x 1, C x 1, B x 1, A x 1
[Fish] 5 Total: D x 1, C x 1, B x 1, A x 1, S x 1
[Wraith] 13 Total: C x 1, B x 1, A x 11
[Dragon] 23 Total: B x 1, A x 22
[Angel] 1 Total: A x 1
[ - ]
[Weapon] Orichalcum sword: Attack 10000, Attack 5000
[Armor 1] Dragon hide armor: Endurance 8000, Physical Damage taken halved
[Armor 2] Dark dragon coat: Endurance 4000, Magic Damage taken halved
[Ring 1] Attack +5000, Attack +5000
[Ring 2] Attack +5000, Attack +5000
[Bracelet 1] Mana Recovery 1%, Mana +5000, Intelligence +5000, Cooldowns halved
[Bracelet 2] Mana Recovery 1%, Mana +5000, Intelligence +5000, Cooldowns halved
[Necklace] Attack + 3000, Attack + 3000
[Earring 1] Attack +2000, Physical Attack Damage +7%
[Earring 2] Attack +2000, Physical Attack Damage +7%
[Anklet 1] Quickstep, Agility +5000, Dodge Chance +20%
[Anklet 2] Quickstep, Agility +5000, Dodge Chance +20%
-Bird S and Fish S summons boost two stats by 10000 each
-Only one type of summon can be under Growth Level 9
-Growth Level 9 makes Blessings grant 1000 stats
-Growth Level 8 makes Blessings grant 400 stats
-Extra stats to equipment obtained thanks to Habarak
-Armor 1 and 2 obtained from the Gates of Trials
-Extra stats to accessories obtained thanks to Kasagoma
Allen went to the divine realm to obtain new power.
