Hellmode ~Gamer Who Likes to Speedrun Becomes Peerless in a Parallel World with Obsolete Setting~

"Phew, so we passed, huh?"

After deactivating her Skill [Full Beast Mode], Shea took a moment to catch her breath before heading down towards the two figures.

'That seems to be the case. But, you should have chosen True Swift Death Strike instead of True Demolishing Punch there. That's what Allen would have said.'

Luvanka, drawing from Allen's knowledge and experience, said that.

"Well, True Swift Death Strike is easier to combo, but its power isn't that high. That was the plan, but well, there's room for improvement. So, can we talk about the reward now?"

Finally, on the 12th day, they managed to conquer the challenge of the second floor. Shea, valuing the outcome more than the process, seemed unfazed by Luvanka's criticism.

However, as they faced the trial separately from Zew and days had passed, Shea was eager to discuss the reward. The polite speech they maintained with Cougar during their long battle had begun to erode.

'You'll receive two rewards: Garm's Medium Blessing and a Divine Technique. Be grateful.'

Cougar replied.

As Cougar returned to his humanoid form and extended his hand towards Shea, she could feel a surge of power. It felt as if both her fists were enveloped in scalding hot water. She had finally received a Blessing from the beast god Garm significant enough to change her stats.

"Hmm, how significant is this blessing? Could you elaborate on the effects of the Divine Technique?"

Shea asked further, recalling Dogora's intermediate blessing from the Fire God Freya.

'Huh?! What's with that attitude?!'

Cougar raised his voice at Shea's haughty demeanor, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Of course I'm going to ask questions. You never told us what the challenge was about. You made us think we had to defeat you, but then the condition was to just string together a combo of five attacks. You might as well tell us this much now."

Shea replied back.

The reason they had taken 12 days to face the trial was that Shea was focused on defeating Cougar. As a result, she had been plagued by bizarre nightmares repeatedly.

Allen was not there, so it was harder to figure out the fastest way to get through everything. All they could do was hope they would reach the top faster than Zew.

Shea glared at Cougar, determined not to proceed in this unclear situation.

'...Well, alright. Though you shouldn't even consider killing a god within the realm of common sense."

Cougar sighed, exasperated that Shea had actually considered defeating him.

"I see, I guess I've been around Allen too much. So what is it?"

"I won't say it again, so listen carefully."

Without attempting to correct her demeanor, Shea continued asking about the two rewards she had obtained this time.

[Reward 1, Beast God Garm's Medium Blessing] -All stats +5000 -Critical chance +30% -Combo chaining chance +30%

[Reward 2, Divine Technique [Ruthless Leopard God Attack] *simple explanation] -A simple attack -It can only be used after a combo of 10 attacks -Uses 10000 Spiritual Power *The maximum number consumed is 10000, but it can be activated even if one only has 1 left -No cooldown, so it can be used multiple times if the combo condition is met *Looks like a straight punch

[(Reference) Effects of the Fire God Freya's Blessings] -Smallest: Fire absorption only -Smaller: Fire absorption, all stats +1000 -Small: Fire absorption, all stats +3000, Attack damage +10% -Medium: Fire absorption, all stats +5000, Attack damage +30%, cooldowns of True Skills reduced by 30% -Large: Fire absorption, all stats +10000, Attack damage +30%, cooldowns of True Skills reduced by 30%

"I see… I had to practice combos for this Divine Technique."

Shea understood that the requirement of a combo had not been random.

The Divine Technique [Divine Wind Consecutive Hits] she had obtained from the Beast God Giran's trial worked really nicely together with combos. The Divine Artifact [Divine Wind Shoes] also increased her Agility and reduced her cooldowns, making it easier to combo Skills.

Somehow all the rewards worked together with each other nicely.

"Then let's aim for the next floor," Shea declared.

'Indeed. Thank you, Lord Cougar,' Luvanka acknowledged.

'Hmph. The next trial won't be as easy as mine. Just make sure you don't die,' Cougar snorted dismissively, as if implying it was too late for them to adopt such commendable attitudes.

"What kind of..." Shea began, but was interrupted by Cougar's retort.

'There's no way I'll tell you. Let's just say it takes courage to turn back.'

Cougar chuckled this time, showing his fangs with a smirk. He hinted that an even more challenging trial awaited them on the floor above.

With that said, the Beast God Cougar vanished, leaving them alone.

"Let's go," Shea urged.

'Agreed,' Luvanka concurred, and they ascended the stairs.

"There's nothing here," Shea noted.

'No one's here... Shea, stay vigilant,' Luvanka warned.

As they reached the third floor, they found it to be just an empty space. Like the previous levels, the floor was paved with stone slabs, and as far as they could see, there was nothing but an endless expanse of emptiness.

"I know. Huh?... A staircase..." Shea observed.

In the center of the spacious room stood only a staircase.

'Another trap…' Luvanka muttered.

Luvanka and Shea, backs to each other, remained cautious, not letting their guard down like they did during the encounter with Cougar.

"Stay alert, indeed. Let's go—huh!?"

They attempted to approach the staircase when Shea exclaimed.

Rumble... Crack…

The floor of the third level began to shake, and the large stone slabs started to peel away. Both the ascending and descending staircases were crushed, and the ceiling, as well as the floor, shattered into pieces, plunging into an abyss below.

"What?! What's happening?!"

Shea had traveled with Allen, been to the depths of the sea, aimed for the divine realm, and had various experiences. But such cataclysmic events were a first for her, leaving her speechless and bewildered.

Eventually, even the floor beneath their feet crumbled, leaving them with nowhere to run, nowhere to jump, and nothing to grab onto. Despite having climbed to the third floor, they found themselves falling into the pitch-black depths below.

"What's this? A mesh?"

As they fell, they noticed brown lines forming a mesh-like structure below. It seemed to be a narrow platform existing amidst the abyss.

'We can't just fall into the abyss like this. Let's jump over there,' Luvanka decided.

"Got it!"

It was around ten meters wide in total. While it was sufficient width for Shea, who was human-sized, it was quite precarious for Luvanka, who stood thirty meters tall. Nevertheless, both of them managed to land on the platform without falling into the abyss.

Once they landed, Shea began to walk, moving to the edge of the ten-meter wide platform to peer into the abyss below. The vertical drop seemed to extend into the pitch-black darkness, devoid of any light. While the walls should have been illuminated by sunlight, the bottom of the abyss was so deep and shrouded in darkness that it was beyond their line of sight.

"It feels like we're standing on a net over a bottomless pit," Shea remarked.

'To think there would be such a treacherous platform here... The wind is strong too,' Luvanka noted.

Woosh…

Shea's tiger-striped hair was blown upward by the wind, reminiscent of standing on a cliff. She had a strong core as a frontliner, so the wind did not make her feel unsteady, and Luvanka was heavy enough that he did not have to worry about that.

But she was still worried about the wind, so she turned around to go to the center of the platform.

'Watch out! Something is coming!!'

Just as she turned around, Luvanka noticed someone was coming up from the abyss.

"Woah?!"

Shea lost her footing, and Luvanka stretched out one of his arms and pulled her to him.

Amidst the strong gusts of wind, Shea felt an intense foreboding. The wind seemed to carry with it a powerful sense of anger and hatred, stirring up anxiety within her.

Something was rising from below the mesh-like platform. Luvanka's muscles tensed with anticipation.

"What are you?!"

Along with the gusts from the abyss, a man emerged from the darkness below, propelled by the wind.

'I am the Wind God, Vess. It's been a while since the last time I had guests in this prison.'

The man declared, standing about ten meters tall with a muscular upper body adorned with rings embedded into each upper arm. His lower body was clad in green linen or something similar, tied roughly around his waist with ropes. He lacked pupils in his eyes, and though he faced them, it was unclear where he was looking.

With disheveled yellow hair blowing in the wind, he appeared to be over fifty years old, yet his eyes exuded not emptiness but rather an overwhelming sense of hatred and resentment.

"Wind God Vess? How can that be?"

Shea inquired, shifting her gaze from the self-proclaimed Wind God to Luvanka. Allen had seen a statue of Vess in the empty Temple with the Fragment of the Sun.

'It appears this is Lord Vess.'

Luvanka confirmed, recalling the image of the Wind God Vess from his shared memories with Allen.

"But why would he be in a place like this?" Shea pressed further.

'Back there it said that the Sun God Amante and the 8 Gods serving her were stripped of their power, and then thrown to be sealed in the underworld…'

"But not everyone was sealed then? But why would he be here?"

'It is me, and I've been tasked with giving you a trial. That's my vow to Elmea, and my shackles to the traitor Garm.'

"What are you talking about?"

It was said that the gods had transitioned from the era of the Sun God Amante to the God of Creation Elmea about a million years ago. Vess, taking out what looked like a scrap of paper from his tattered pants, continued.

'Ah, yes, just as I told you. That is the agreement. By doing so, my shackles will be lightened. So you have to undergo a trial now.'

Vess declared, imposing the challenge of the third floor on them.