Chapter 10: Great Boar Hunting
It was now October, and Allen had turned seven.
“All right, we’re off.”
“We’re off, mother.”
“Take care, Rodin, Allen.”
Theresia gave Rodin a kiss and Allen a hug. The hug was very tight, almost as if this was a final farewell.
Rodin threw his usual bag—filled with his hunting tools, food, and water—over his shoulder and tied it diagonally across his back. It was larger than normal today as it also contained Allen’s rations. He then picked up his hunting spear.
Both Rodin and Gerda had ended up accepting Allen’s suggested changes to the great boar hunting strategy. Today, they were going to put them into practice. Allen would finally get his chance to see a hunt in person.
When Allen and Rodin stopped by Gerda’s house to pick him up, they found him waiting next to Mathilda—who was holding Lily—and Krena.
“Alleeeeen! I wanna go tooooo!” Krena cried, grabbing Allen’s arm and shaking it vigorously.
“Once you’re a bit older, okay?” Gerda admonished with a troubled look on his face.
“Whaaaaat? Why does Allen get to go, then?” Krena asked, her cheeks puffed in indignation.
“I’m just going along to observe,” Allen replied, calming her down by patting her head.
As he said, Allen was not going to directly participate in today’s hunt. Although his idea had been accepted, the adults did not give him permission to join in. He had spent a whole hour trying to argue his point, but Rodin was resolute and refused to budge.
Eventually, Allen folded and asked if he could at least come along to observe. Rodin still shook his head, but Allen insisted that it was necessary for him to see whether his strategy worked or not in person. In the end, the two struck a compromise with Allen promising to stay a good distance away from the action.
After that, Allen asked when he would actually be able to participate. Rodin’s response was, “When you turn ten.” In this world, children in serf families began helping out at ten, and the age of adulthood was fifteen. Allen, however, thought that there was not much of a difference between seven and ten.
Do I seriously have to wait three more years to join in? I really want that great boar XP, though. I’ve gotta think of something.
For Allen, XP was everything. Since it was now October, he intended on resuming his albaheron hunting. However, he wanted XP from the great boar hunts too. Although officially he would be going along only to observe, he was racking his brain for a way to get in on the action somehow.
Mm, my card distribution is just right.
Allen currently had his cards arranged in what he called Hunting Mode. Even though he would not be able to take part in today’s hunt, he needed this loadout to hunt albaherons. And now that he was seven years old, the restriction on his stats had relaxed somewhat, with the scaling increased from sixty percent to seventy percent. Allen loved looking at the higher numbers so much he would check his grimoire every once in a while.
Name: Allen
Age: 7
Class: Summoner
Level: 2
HP: 45 (65) + 75
MP: 42 (60) + 35
Attack: 16 (24) + 75
Endurance: 16 (24) + 18
Agility: 35 (51) + 28
Intelligence: 49 (70) + 10
Luck: 35 (51) + 35
Skills: Summoning {3}, Creation {3}, Synthesis {3}, Strengthening {3}, Expansion {2}, Deletion, Sword Mastery {3}, Throwing {3}
XP: 600/2,000
Skill Levels
Summoning: 3
Creation: 3
Synthesis: 3
Strengthening: 3
Skill Experience
Creation: 51,418/100,000
Synthesis: 51,410/100,000
Strengthening: 51,400/100,000
Creatable Summons
Insect: F, G, H
Beast: F, G, H
Bird: F, G
Grass: F
Holder
Insect: F x 3, G x 3
Beast: F x 15
Bird: F x 2
Grass: F x 7
After raising Strengthening to Lvl. 3, Allen diligently continued converting his MP into Skill XP every day. At the current pace, he would reach Summoning Lvl. 4 next year. And now, thanks to Strengthening Lvl. 3, Allen’s Summons received +50 to the two stats corresponding with the buffs he received. This made them even more effective in battle.
Soon, Allen’s group passed through the village square and reached the gate to the village, the gathering place this morning for all those who would be participating in today’s great boar hunt. Everyone present was holding spears.
“Oh, there you guys are!” someone shouted, prompting all eyes to turn around. There were whispers along the lines of “He really brought his kid!” but no one voiced their opposition out loud. Rodin had given his permission for Allen to come along as an observer and Gerda had expressed his agreement. The rest of the serfs trusted these two’s judgment.
What’s more, Allen himself had also proved, over the past year, that he possessed incredible strength. Many people had witnessed him drawing water and going out to buy firewood. It was precisely because this world functioned on a leveling system and it was indeed possible for people to display unbelievable power that everyone seemed to have taken this in stride.
“We’ll set off once everyone’s here. We even have two newcomers today. Let’s all get fired up and do this properly!” Rodin shouted to rally the others, prompting an enthusiastic “OHHHHH!” in response. Some even wiped away tears at seeing this leader of theirs returning to action after an entire year away.
Because there were still members of the party who had not yet arrived, the group continued waiting. The two newcomers, both of whom were commoners, were already present. They were among the five who had participated last year. Just like the serfs, they were holding spears and waiting patiently at the gathering point.
There were two ways to increase the number of great boars hunted beyond the ten per year that the group had managed so far. First would be to increase the frequency of the hunts—more hunts would mean more great boars. Second would be to increase the number of hunters to where there could be two hunting parties—this would double the number of great boars hunted. Both methods, however, required the same thing: more hunters.
For now, our task is to demonstrate how we can incorporate these two newcomers into the hunts safely. Then we can think about gathering even more people. That’s why we’re starting with only two this time, then only accepting more at a controlled pace.
When the last person arrived, this time it was Gerda who shouted, “All right, we’re all here. Let’s go!” The rest roared their answer before the entire group started filing out of the village gates.
Seven years after being born as a serf, I finally get to see the outside world.
Deboji, the village chief, had given official permission for Allen to leave the village for this outing, as Rodin and Gerda teaming up together to ask for something gave their request significant weight. He did look somewhat doubtful when the two told him that this was necessary for today’s hunt, but did not press the matter.
Allen could not help but gasp with emotion as the wooden gates opened up, revealing the world beyond. The path connected to the village was clear enough to be a road but was not very well-maintained. This was the same passage the knights had traveled when they visited the village previously.
“Allen, let’s go. It’s this way,” Rodin called out, seeing his son standing still.
As it turned out, the hunting party was not using the road. After leaving the gate, they circled around the walls of the village, heading toward a rather dense forest a ways off in the distance.
The first hunting ground is three hours’ walk away, if I remember correctly.
What with there being newcomers today, the plan was to do the hunt at the site closest to the village. Even so, there was still a bit of a distance to hike. Along the way, Allen reconfirmed with Rodin and Gerda the strategy they were going to employ today.
Halfway through the conversation, one of the newcomers approached the three and said to Rodin, “Sir, I’m going to do my best today!”
Hm? I feel like I’ve seen him before...
“Mm. Well, today should be easier than last year,” Rodin replied. “Don’t wind yourself up too tight.”
Oh, right, he’s the guy who visited our house that one time last year. He’s joining this year too, huh.
Apparently when Rodin had informed Deboji that the hunting party was looking to accept two newcomers and Deboji spread the word, this young man had been one of the first to step forward. He wanted to be of use this time to make up for his previous failure. The other serfs had accepted him with open arms, appreciative of his desire to make things right.
The procession of a total of twenty-three, including the newcomers and Allen, soon reached the forest. They continued making their way in deeper, heading for the hunting grounds.
Still, why is the feudal lord so fixated on making us increase the number we hunt? Considering how he’s been asking about it for several years now, this can’t be just a temporary whim. There must be a larger reason behind it. Hold on. That night, during our dinner at the village chief’s house... Didn’t the knight captain say that the most pressing concern of this fiefdom currently is procuring food?
As he continued trudging forward, Allen racked his brains for reasons why the feudal lord would want more food. Eventually, he came up with three.
Reason 1: The main industry that this fiefdom had been relying on all this time is dying out, leading to the need to be self-sufficient in terms of food.
Reason 2: The feudal lord realized how much money he could make from taxing all the great boar meat and is greedy for more.
Reason 3: There is a shortage of food within the fiefdom or within the kingdom as a whole.
All seem likely, but I’d place my bets on the first or second. Seeing as how there are still traveling merchants bringing fruit to our village to trade, I don’t think we’re running out of food.
Even Allen did not notice it about himself, but his method of thinking about things was starting to change. Being able to step outside the village for the first time in seven years seemed to have pushed him toward considering matters from a larger perspective.
“All right, we’re here!” Rodin shouted, prompting everyone to stop.
This was a rather sizable clearing that had more than enough space for twenty people to hunt in. The group could finally take a breather after walking for hours on end. Everyone retrieved their dried potatoes and waterskins from their luggage.
Gerda asked, “Pekej, got a minute?” prompting a man munching on a potato to come over. The two proceeded to do a final confirmation on details of the day’s hunt—such as where to draw the game from—by drawing it out on the ground. Allen sat together with them to listen in.
The hunters were going to be split into three major teams. Because of this, there was a need for three leaders. Aside from Rodin and Gerda, the third one would be this man, Pekej. And how his team performed would determine the survival of the entire hunting party.
When Pekej said, “We’ll be searching in the north today,” Gerda marked it in their diagram on the ground.
Pekej’s team, Team One, was in charge of drawing a single great boar to this clearing. This was the role that Allen, from his days as a gamer, referred to as “pulling” or “fishing.” The general idea was to attract the desired enemy and draw it toward where one’s allies were lying in wait.
This team had the fewest number of people—including Pekej, there were only three total. With a simple “All right, we’re off,” each of them grabbed a stick and disappeared into the trees. The sticks they were armed with were not spears but something more similar to Allen’s wooden sword. That was the tool they needed to do their “fishing.”
Great boars were scattered throughout this forest, but they were not necessarily always by themselves. Some wandered around alone, but some would be in pairs or trios. There would be no problem if the pullers encountered a great boar by itself. However, if it was a group of three, and they led all three boars to the hunting party, the party would be overrun and everyone could very well die. In such cases, the pullers needed to lead only one toward the hunting grounds while drawing the remaining two in the opposite direction to lose them in the woods. This was why three men were needed to “fish” a single great boar.
The population of great boars in this forest would explode in autumn. As such, it would not take too long to find and pull one to the hunting ground.
Beyond this forest is the White Dragon Mountains, right? I wonder if it’s related somehow. Allen was curious why the boars would increase in number so significantly in autumn, but apparently neither Rodin nor Gerda knew the details. All they knew was that beyond the forest were the White Dragon Mountains, a mountain range where a white dragon resided. Rodin posited that perhaps the great boars normally lived at the foot of these mountains and came to the forest in autumn in search of food.
I can’t see the mountain from here. Is it actually quite far away? I can’t see anything with all these trees in the way.
“IT’S HEEEEERRRE!”
Pekej burst out from the forest, his shout interrupting Allen’s thoughts. The other two pullers were nowhere to be seen. In other words, the team must have encountered a group of three great boars, and the other two were still in the middle of losing their respective boars.
“GUMOOOOHHH!”
CRAAAASH!
The great boar had arrived. Just as it was about to crush Pekej under its hooves, the man ducked behind a large tree. In the brief window when the boar slowed down after colliding with the tree, Pekej dashed through the lines of the hunting party’s main force.
Gerda led the team in charge of this next part. All eleven members of this team—the largest team among the three—were ready and waiting. The giant body of the three-meter-tall great boar came charging in, spraying drool everywhere. It bore not only huge, vicious-looking tusks but also numerous horns on top of its snout.
Damn, that’s a terrifying sight all right. I get why the newcomers freaked out. So this is what a Rank C monster is like.
Allen was watching everything unfold from further back. It was quite a distance, but even he could feel the tremors caused by the monster’s stomping. He found himself somewhat overwhelmed by the scene.
“HERE WE GOOOO! EVERYONE, BRAAAAACE!”
“RAAAAAHHHHH!”
“GUMOOOOHHH!”
The group Gerda led, Team Two, was in charge of surrounding and stopping the great boar. They were equipped with two-meter-long spears—any longer and they might snap with the strain—that had broad spearheads on the end. These had been modified specifically for hunting great boars.
As the boar made contact with the wall of spears, the men roared with vigor and desperately braced themselves. If they lost their footing, they would be impaled with the monster’s fangs and horns. The eleven all gritted their teeth and worked as one to offset the momentum of the charge.
When Team Two managed to lock the great boar’s head down with their spears, Gerda shouted, “All right! It’s stopped! Surround it! Rodin, do your thing!”
“You got it!” Rodin roared in response. “Y’all, let’s go!”
“RAAAAAHHH!”
There were six people in Rodin’s group, Team Three. They split into two smaller groups of three each, each approaching the boar’s flank from opposing sides to deal the killing blow. They were aiming for the creature’s jugular. The great boar’s head was huge and tough, and its back was also protected by very sturdy hide. The best way to kill it, therefore, was to deliver a fatal wound to its throat, which was relatively softer than all the other parts of its body.
This was a very structured hunt, with everyone having well-defined roles. After doing this for ten years, they all knew what they were doing, and their teamwork was perfect.
Everything so far is just as I’d been told. Okay, my idea should work, then. Allen turned to the two newcomers who were on standby next to himself and said, “It’s time. Do it like how my father taught you, please.”
“O-Okay.”
“Off we go.”
This was finally the point when these two would get involved. They gripped their spears and stepped forward to join the mass of hunters struggling against the great beast, taking up position behind Gerda’s team.
“Excuse us, coming in from behind!” they shouted in unison as the both of them thrust their spears over Team Two’s shoulders.
“All right! Don’t accidentally hit us!” Gerda responded over the ruckus.
The strategy that Allen had suggested to Rodin and Gerda this time was very simple. While the serfs used spears that were two meters long, the ones issued to the commoners this time were double that length at four meters. With these in hand, they could attack from behind the team holding the boar.
Team One was in charge of pulling, Team Two was in charge of stopping the great boar and holding it down, and Team Three was in charge of finishing the beast off. All of them were inappropriate for including inexperienced newcomers—worst case, someone would die. And so Allen made the case that newcomers should not be put into any of the existing teams but should just stab from behind Team Two.
Under the furious barrage of stabs, the monster let out one final deafening squeal. Someone had finally managed to pierce its throat, unleashing a huge fountain of blood. The beast’s movements gradually grew sluggish until its body ultimately slumped over, sending a tremor through the ground.
Yes! Everything went perfectly!
Just as Rodin and Gerda stepped forward to confirm the kill, the two commoners whooped loudly.
“AHHH! I OVERCAME A TRIAL!!!”
“TH-THE POWER! IT’S WELLING UP! THANK YOU, GOD!”
Seemingly having leveled up, they cheered loudly about overcoming a Trial of the Gods and stared at the spears they were holding, their hands trembling with emotion.
So just thrusting their spears from the back still gave them enough XP to level up. In fact, since they’re in Normal Mode, I assume they gained several levels from that single kill. Though they probably only perceived it as a single instance of “overcoming a Trial of the Gods.”
Allen summoned his grimoire to check if he had gotten anything. He looked over at the cover, but unfortunately, there was no new entry in the log.
Gah! As I thought, I won’t get any XP just standing here.
Although Allen had expected this, getting the confirmation was still quite a downer. The strategy had gone well, but he himself had gotten nothing out of it. What a pity.
With this, the idea for incorporating newcomers that Allen had come up with was confirmed to be effective and was adopted.
＊ ＊ ＊
Early one morning, several days after the first great boar hunt of the year, Allen headed to the community well closest to his house to draw water. He had set off at the 6 a.m. bell, but there was already a whole line when he arrived.
“Good morning!” Allen greeted in a loud voice. Grabbing everyone’s attention was important.
“Oh! Rodin’s kid! Good morning to you too.”
Allen recognized several faces in line. They were serfs who had been part of the hunt a few days ago.
“You coming again tomorrow, kiddo?”
“Of course! In fact, I want to go every time. Someone, please help convince my father to let me hold a spear!” Allen made a face, trying his best to convey how troubled he felt about Rodin not allowing him to participate in the hunt directly.
“Uh, if we did that, Rodin would make sure we never saw the light of day again.”
Laughter sprang up around the well. Some of the other serfs, however, looked jealous.
“You guys have it good. I want to take part in the hunts too.”
“What’re you saying, man? You’re the one choosing to stay behind with the butchering group. We always welcome more people. I heard we’re getting two more newcomers tomorrow. And Rodin’s kid here is coming along to observe.”
“I’d love to, but my old lady’s got another one in her belly now. It’s too dangerous out there. I can’t risk leaving her all alone.”
The first round of what Allen called the Long Spear Newcomer Induction Plan had gone over as a complete success. Consequently, the hunting party was now looking to accept two more newcomers on top of the two from last time. The idea was to slowly increase the group’s numbers, two at a time, helping them level up along the way.
Although it was safer now thanks to Allen’s strategy, there were still those unable to participate. The very act of facing a great boar in person still, at the end of the day, required one to put their life on the line. Allen had seen the three-meter-tall monster for himself. He knew there was no guarantee that everyone would return home safe and sound.
“Fair enough. Well, we’re doing them once every six days this year, so if you ever feel like it, just let any of us know.”
“You bet I will. I still need to get meat for my missus. Our fields are small, so honestly, it’d be a help just being able to participate in more butcherings.”
Oh? He might do.
Allen turned toward the serf who had only been participating in the butcherings. “Excuse me, mister?”
“I’m not quite old enough to be called ‘mister,’ but, what’s the matter, kiddo?”
“Can I ask you to help me with something?”
This was what Allen was actually aiming for this morning. He asked the man to come to his house at 9 a.m., then filled his buckets and headed back first. When the time came, the man showed up at Allen’s house.
“Oh, good morning again, mister! Thank you for coming!”
“‘Mister’ again... Ahem. I don’t mind coming. What’d you need me for?”
Seeing the man’s eyes wander toward the rack set up above the ditch beside his house, Allen said, “I caught them just now.”
There were two albaherons currently hung up. The sight of blood trickling from their open necks caused the visitor to start a little. Allen turned to lead the way, gesturing for him to follow.
“Th-This is...!”
There were albaheron carcasses stacked up into a whole pile. Ever since it turned October, Allen had resumed his albaheron hunting. He had informed Rodin that he would be focusing on it throughout the entire month before finally helping out with the harvest in November. Rodin agreed readily, as he could actually manage on his own and therefore had no need to rely on Allen’s aid.
Because his afternoons were now dedicated to playing knight, Allen did his hunting in the mornings, catching one to three albaheron every day. Of course, he did the hunting in a fallow field on Rodin’s land—it was a different one from last year, as that one was now growing crops.
Thanks to having perfected his hunting strategy last year, Allen’s catches continued piling up. Now, he had no problem with the hunting process itself, but he did have a new problem—he could not butcher his catches in time. Unprocessed carcasses kept piling higher and higher in his yard.
Allen did consider asking Rodin to help with the butchering. However, Rodin had his work with the fields, and whatever spare time he had, he spent it training the hunting party’s newcomers. All things considered, Rodin was even busier than Allen was.
Currently, of the twelve albaherons that Allen had hunted in the past five days, only five were actually butchered. And so he had come up with the idea to ask someone else to take care of the remaining seven.
“I see. So you want me to butcher these birds.”
“For each one you do, I’ll give you two blocks of meat.”
“Huh? That’s a mighty good deal. You sure about that?”
Allen indicated his confirmation.
For the sake of earning the fifty gold coins that would be needed to free his whole family from serfdom, Allen had visited the butcher in the commercial area of the village the other day to ask how much he would accept meat for. The man had replied that unlike goods bartering, if Allen wanted to sell meat for actual money, he would charge twenty percent as surcharge, or forty percent if the game was not butchered yet. The butcher had to make money from the transaction too, after all.
With this in mind, Allen decided to ask a fellow serf who was in need of meat to do the butchering instead. The reward that he was offering was the same rate as what the butcher would charge to do the butchering—twenty percent. The reason why he did this was because entire albaheron carcasses would be much harder to carry to the commercial area as opposed to neatly packaged blocks of meat.
So, one albaheron nets me six silver coins. Eight if I do the butchering myself, but butchering doesn’t raise my level and hunting does, so it’s more effective to focus solely on hunting and leveling up while outsourcing the butchering to someone else.
Back when Allen was Kenichi, he maintained a single-minded focus on leveling up. Whenever he got his hands on an item, he would immediately exchange it for money. Not once did he stop to try enchanting or upgrading what he picked up. The way he saw things was, if he ever needed anything, he could always just buy it from the players focusing on the crafting aspects of the game.
“Oh, mister. Albaheron liver is really delicious, did you know? For every five albaherons you butcher for me, I’ll let you keep one liver.”
“Are you serious?!”
Organs did not sell well as they would go bad very quickly. Even after securing a portion for his family and the families of Krena, Dogora, and Pelomas, there were still leftovers. Allen’s idea was to reward whoever came and dedicated themselves to the butchering work with a share.
The serf happily accepted the offer. Allen nodded in acknowledgment, then began explaining how he wanted the albaherons to be butchered.
＊ ＊ ＊
Night came and went, and it was now the following day, the day of the second great boar hunt of the year. Because the party had two brand-new newcomers again, they would be using the hunting ground closest to the village, just like last time. This was to avoid the possibility of encountering a great boar inside the forest while making their way toward a deeper hunting ground. The risk was not all that high, as Team One, the pullers, would be going ahead anyways, but there was no need to intentionally increase the chances of danger, no matter how slight.
Soon, the procession reached the clearing, and the pullers were off. The rest remained behind and got into position according to their teams.
The two latest newcomers today looked quite nervous. While they happened to be commoners again, the call for new hunting party members had indeed gone out to the serfs as well, and there were already several names on a wait list. The way the previous newcomers had returned not only unharmed, but proudly boasting about overcoming a Trial of the Gods had proved effective in arousing other villagers’ interest.
Just like last time, Allen was coming along as an observer. Because he would not be contributing directly to the hunt, he was not going to receive a cut of the meat. The four long spear-wielders—the sign of being a newcomer—were going to get half the amount the other hunters would receive. This idea had also been Allen’s. In short, those with the two-meter-long spears would receive ten kilograms of meat, those with the four-meter-long spears would receive five kilograms, and those only doing the butchering would receive three kilograms. This ratio was decided relative to the degree of danger that those in each role would be exposed to.
The newcomers were currently focused on raising their levels. Once they had gone through a few hunts, they would be assigned to the team that, stat-wise, they were most suitable for. Each team required different stat builds according to their duties.
Team One, the pullers, needed high Agility.
Team Two, the surrounders, needed high Endurance.
Team Three, those dealing the final blow, needed Attack.
When Allen first heard of this idea of splitting into three teams, the first thing he thought of was the Appraisal Ceremony. Everyone in the party was likely Talentless, which meant their stats were probably somewhere between Rank C and Rank E. Naturally, the Rank C stats would increase faster than the Rank E ones. The distribution of the ranking of each stat was different from person to person. Based on the thirty-two Statuses that he had seen—his own included—Allen had drawn the conclusion that this distribution was quite random.
Eventually, those with high Agility would be assigned to Team One, those with high Endurance would be assigned to Team Two, and those with high Attack would be assigned to Team Three. Rodin and Gerda also agreed that it was a good idea to let the newcomers overcome several Trials of the Gods first so that it was easier to see what they were good at before “promoting” them to a team.
Around half an hour after the pullers headed off, they came rushing out of the forest at top speed. The fact that they were all together meant they had encountered a great boar that was just by itself.
“THE GREAT BOAR IS COMIIIIIIING!” Pekej yelled.
Oh! Here it comes! Summon: Denka!
While Allen was in the middle of something, everyone else aside from Team One swiftly got into their respective positions. Team Two allowed the three pullers to run through their ranks, then closed their formation. The great boar charged forward, was stopped, then Team Three stepped forward to attack the beast’s neck. Everyone’s movements were perfect, just as they had been last time.
“Newcomers, come on! And don’t stab our backs!”
In response to Gerda’s call, the four newcomers all charged forward and thrust with their long spears. Less than five minutes later, the monster’s jugular had been punctured and blood jetted from its neck. Several more minutes, and it was on its side, dead.
“I got over it! I overcame another Trial!”
“Me too! So this is what it feels like to overcome a Trial of the Gods!”
Both pairs of newcomers had leveled up. What’s more, Allen’s grimoire also gave off a soft glow.
<You have defeated 1 great boar. You have earned 400 XP.>
<Your XP has reached 2,000/2,000. You have reached Lvl. 3. Your HP has increased by 25. Your MP has increased by 40. Your Attack has increased by 14. Your Endurance has increased by 14. Your Agility has increased by 26. Your Intelligence has increased by 40. Your Luck has increased by 26.>
IT WORKED! So that counts as being a part of the fight, huh. I even leveled up from it!
While the hunt was going on, Allen had Summoned an Insect H right underneath one of the great boar’s hoofs in such a way that it had been promptly stomped to death and reduced to bubbles of light.
After much experimenting, Allen had determined that there were two conditions as to where he could call forth his Summons: the location had to be somewhere within fifty meters of himself, and it had to be at a spot that he had direct line of sight to. There was still quite a lot of freedom with this—for example, he could have a bird Summon appear overhead and immediately fly off. However, he could not Summon anything, say, inside a house while standing outside and looking in through a window. In other words, he had to get the location and timing just perfect so he could Summon Denka exactly where the great boar’s foot was going to land.
Hmm, so even when it’s just my Summon taking damage, I still get XP from the kill. The pullers don’t hold spears, and they basically do nothing once they’ve returned to the party, so I assume that being targeted by a monster also counts as being part of a fight?
Allen noted down his observations.
Conditions for Gaining XP from a Fight:
Attack
Be attacked
Be targeted
Although he ultimately was still barred from participating in the hunt itself, Allen had found a way to make following the hunting party worth his while. He smiled with satisfaction as a sense of achievement filled his chest.
＊ ＊ ＊
The year turned, and it was now January 2. Allen and Krena were heading back home from the residential district.
“They gave us so much!”
“They sure did.”
Krena looked happy as she trudged along, her hands filled with leftover food.
This world also had a tradition of celebrating the New Year. Allen had been under the impression that it did not, as his own family never did anything special for the occasion. However, while he was catching a break during a play knight session and chatting with Pelomas, he learned that the commoners had such a tradition. The village chief would invite all the commoners over on New Year’s and host one big feast. Dogora had also participated every year.
Partly meant as a celebration of the success of last year’s great boar hunts, the New Year’s celebration this year was even grander than usual. The Long Spear Newcomer Induction Plan devised by Allen had been a resounding success, and the hunting party successfully met their quota of fifteen great boars. In fact, not only did they succeed, they went above and beyond, taking down eighteen great boars without a single person suffering major injury.
The village chief did invite Rodin and Gerda, whom he saw as the key figures behind this achievement, to the New Year’s celebration. However, the two of them declined his offer, citing their young children who needed constant care. Thus, participation fell to Allen and Krena instead. Since at least the children of the leaders of the hunting party showed up for the celebration, Deboji was spared public humiliation.
“We’re back!” Krena called out right before she reached her house’s front door.
Her younger sister, Lily, toddled out and grabbed her older sister, exclaiming “K’ena!” in welcome. The two looked very close. Krena pinched her cheeks gently as Mash also walked out of the house.
“Welcome back,” Gerda said. Mathilda was right next to him. Additionally...
“Did you have fun at the village chief’s house?”
“Welcome back.”
Rodin, Theresia, and Myulla were also present.
“I’m back, father, mother, Myulla. Mm-hm, I had lots of fun.”
Tonight, both families were spending the night together at Krena’s house. Allen and Krena handed over the meat and fruit they had been carrying. Mathilda and Theresia accepted it all and began preparing for dinner. As these were leftovers from the feast, the food was gourmet compared to the fare that usually graced Allen’s and Krena’s families’ dinner table. Great boar and some of the albaheron Allen caught were also being served.
Soon, the two families’ feast, much humbler than the village chief’s, kicked off. Four adults and six children were a very tight fit in this house, but even so, they all enjoyed themselves immensely.
I really do love sleepovers at Krena’s house.
As everyone ate, Allen regaled them with stories from the feast, such as how Deboji had repeatedly voiced his gratitude toward Rodin and Gerda. Krena, for her part, did not remember much of this, as she had been occupied with eating from start to finish.
Slowly but surely, Gerda started growing listless. Eventually, he asked, “Say, Allen?”
“Yes, Mr. Gerda?”
“The thing behind you...is it what I think it is?”
One of the things that Allen had brought home with him today was a small wooden cask with a capacity of only a few liters. It was currently set down behind where he was sitting. Unlike everything else that he had carried back, he had yet to hand this over.
“Do you mean this barrel? It’s filled with wine, yes.”
Both Rodin and Gerda inadvertently went, “Ohhhhh!” in excited voices.
They took the bait. I knew they liked wine.
Ignoring the response from the adults, however, Allen turned to chat with Krena, evoking two bewildered “huh?!”s. The two men could not understand why Allen had just glossed over the topic. They had fully expected the conversation to develop toward them getting the wine.
Allen turned back, his head tilted in seeming puzzlement. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Uh, Deboji gave that to you, right?” Gerda returned, somewhat haltingly.
“Yes, the village chief gave it to me,” Allen responded, the confusion on his face deepening further.
Unable to hold it in any further, Gerda blurted, “You can’t drink it, though!” Next to him, Rodin nodded several times to show his support for Gerda’s outburst. Theresia and Mathilda turned toward Allen, their attention drawn by the ruckus the men were raising.
“Awww, okay. It’s my wine, but I guess if you beat me in a contest of strength, I’ll give it to you.”
“Huh?!”
“Contest?!”
“If you don’t want to, I don’t mind. I’ll just keep this to myself.”
Silence filled the room. Krena looked around curiously, still shoveling food into her mouth.
Eventually, Gerda adopted a fierce grin and flexed an arm, showing off his biceps. “All right, you’ve got yourself a contest!”
Noticing Allen’s querying look, Rodin replied, “I can’t very well lose in strength to my own son, can I? Count me in.”
“Okay! A contest of strength it is, then. If I beat both of you, then it’ll be my win. Is that fine?”
Slightly taken by surprise at the terms that seemed so advantageous for himself, Gerda stopped for a brief moment, then nodded. “Someone’s confident. Sure, that works.”
After seeing Rodin nod as well, Allen continued, “So, if I lose, then I’ll give this wine to both of you. What do I get if I win?”
A “huh?” fell from both men’s lips at the same time. They had apparently not even considered the possibility of themselves losing.
“Well, I need motivation too!”
“I mean, is there anything that you want?”
“Mmm... How about, if I win, then I get to join this year’s great boar hunts?”
“HUH?!” three voices cried out at once as Theresia joined in.
Rodin and Gerda had finally realized that they had fallen into a trap. Allen had asked Pelomas ahead of time if wine would be served at the feast. Everything that had happened afterward, including this overnight stay, had been a part of Allen’s plan all along.
“You won’t lose, though, right? This is a contest of strength, after all.”
Allen made sure to emphasize the word “strength.” This was not any old contest, but a contest of strength. Rodin and Gerda exchanged looks as if asking each other what to do.
Eventually, it was Rodin who responded, understanding that this was his call to make. “Fine, we accept those conditions. If we win, we get the wine. If you win, you get to join this year’s hunts.”
“Honey?!” The person most shocked at Rodin’s answer was Theresia. She had not expected him to go along with what she thought was sheer madness.
Rodin calmed his wife down by assuring her that he would not lose, then turned to Allen. “Exactly what do you have in mind for this contest?”
“Arm wrestling.”
All the adults echoed the words, “Arm wrestling...?” in a confused tone as Krena alone went, “Arm wrestling!” in recognition. In order to demonstrate what it was to the adults, Allen had explained it to her at Deboji’s house. In fact, they even had an arm wrestling competition with all the kids present.
“Krena and I will show how it’s done. Krena, can you come over here?”
“Sure!”
Allen and Krena picked their way over to the earthen-floored area, then laid down on the ground, facing each other. There wasn’t enough space to do this in the main room right now, with how packed it was. Everyone else looked on curiously as the two kids gripped each other’s hand.
“Now all we need is someone to tell us when to start. Mother, can you shout, ‘Start!’ for us?”
“Huh? St...art?”
Theresia’s drawn-out word was accepted as the signal, prompting Allen and Krena to start pushing with their arms. Although Krena went red in the face from the exertion, Allen still handily pushed the back of her hand to the ground, claiming victory.
“Allen, you’re so strooong! I lost agaaaain!” Krena cried in frustration. She had also lost just now at Deboji’s house, making this two losses in a row.
“And that’s how it’s done,” Allen said, turning to the adults. “You win by pushing your opponent’s hand to the ground. That’s why it’s a contest of strength.”
The rules were simple, and both Rodin and Gerda caught on quickly. They did look extremely astonished, however, to see Krena, a Sword Lord, lose.
She is still only Lvl. 1, after all. Her Attack isn’t actually all that high.
Krena was strong in a fight because of how high her Sword Mastery skill was. The power that she could muster, however, was unremarkable, as she had yet to kill any monsters.
“All right,” Gerda said. “Who do you want to face first?”
“You, of course, Mr. Gerda. Then father is next.”
Thus began the battle, Allen’s wine and right to hunt on the line.
Gerda descended from the main room to the earthen-floored area. Because of how big his body was, his feet protruded a little out the front door. He and Allen clasped hands.
Now, can I actually win this?
By this point, he had caught so many albaherons that he had reached Lvl. 6, and there was not a single person in the village who did not know of him now. So much for not standing out.
Part of his renown also came from his continued attendance at all the boar hunting party’s hunts the past year. Of course, he did not merely watch while twiddling his thumbs—he provided instruction to commoners and serfs alike, and there was new equipment scheduled to be completed by autumn this year that he had designed.
The way Allen saw it, he had only two options to survive: either go full throttle on leveling, even if this made him stick out, or remain a low-level weakling. In this world, Allen was the only person in Hell Mode. His stats would still remain rock-bottom if he only did as much as the next person. No, he would have to work a hundred times harder than everyone else for the appraisal values that Elmea had specially added to his grimoire to even become relevant.
After considering everything, Allen had concluded that the first option was the way to go. One major factor behind this decision had been Rodin’s injury. It had helped Allen understand that he needed strength to protect those closest to him. He did not mind being a little conspicuous, as long as it did not draw unwanted attention from the nobles or the royal family—he was banking on the results of his appraisal to act as a damper on any waves he created.
Allen wanted to seize the right to participate in the great boar hunts by his own hand. For the sake of this day, he had filled all thirty available card slots with Beast F cards. Gerda was somewhat hesitant, but when he saw the resolution in the eyes staring back at him, a serious expression came over his face. Both sides meant business in this contest.
“This all right?” Gerda asked, getting down beside Allen and digging his elbow into the ground.
Allen nodded. “Krena, be our referee.”
“Okay!” Krena placed her hand where Allen’s and Gerda’s were clasped. She had also learned the “proper” way of refereeing at the village chief’s house just now. “Ready...start!”
Both sides grunted “HMPH!” and started pushing with all their might. The muscles on Gerda’s arm seemed at risk of bursting as both contestants’ faces grew redder and redder.
Shock filled Gerda’s face. Rodin simply watched on. Theresia and Mathilda both exclaimed in surprise. The strength that Allen was displaying was far beyond that of a normal seven-year-old. And slowly but surely, he started gaining the upper hand. Before long, Gerda’s hand hit the ground. Allen had won.
“NOOOOO!!! I LOOOSTTT!!!” Gerda howled in frustration. The two women’s faces made it clear they could not believe what they had just witnessed.
Oof, that was really close. Based on this, I’d say Gerda’s Attack stat is between 150 to 200.
Allen flapped his hand about, trying to shake away fatigue in preparation for the next round. Rodin studied him with a severe look on his face, then got up and took off his pale brown jacket, exposing the well-developed muscles that he had gained from swinging his hoe day after day, morning to evening. He was going to go all out.
“I’ll wait for your arm to recover,” Rodin said, indicating that he wanted to face Allen in top condition.
“Th-Thank you, father.”
Several minutes later, Allen had rested enough and was good to go again. He was ready for what would be his fourth match of the day. He and his father both lay down on the bare earth facing each other, dug their elbows into the ground, and clasped hands.
I feel like this is the first time we’ve held hands so firmly before.
Rodin’s hand was rugged and calloused, conveying just how hard he had been working for his family’s sake. Allen’s heart overflowed with appreciation. At the same time, Rodin also looked as though he wanted to say something. It had been years since he had held his son’s hand properly. However, Krena, who saw that the two of them were settled, came forward to place her own hand over theirs.
Allen shot a quick look at his mother and found her earnestly praying for his father’s victory. It was only natural, of course, as Rodin losing meant Allen taking up a spear and fighting in person this autumn. Clearly, Theresia had zero intention of cheering for Allen in this contest.
“Okay, ready? Start!”
Right after the signal, both father and son let out a “HMPH!” and pushed with all they had. Rodin’s face turned red and the veins on his arm bulged.
Shit, he’s this strong? Uh-oh...
Thanks to the +150 boost from his thirty Beast F cards, the total value of Allen’s Attack could now be rounded up to 200, but Rodin’s was apparently much higher than that. Little by little, Allen lost ground, and soon enough, he was thoroughly beaten. He did not even have a chance to make the slightest comeback.
Three voices cheered in unison—two in elation and one in relief. Rodin had defeated Allen, who had beaten both Sword Lord Krena and Gerda. The man pumped his fist in a rare show of childish excitement and basked in the glow of his victory. He was extremely happy about winning, to put it mildly.
Damn, I didn’t stand a chance. His Attack is probably somewhere between 250 and 300, isn’t it?
Allen mentally estimated Rodin’s stats using his own as a benchmark while graciously passing the wine cask over.
“WHOO! WINE!”
“HELL YEAH!”
Rodin and Gerda helped themselves with zero hesitation. They filled each other’s wooden cups to the brim. Rodin exclaimed about how delicious his drink of victory was.
When they went through the Appraisal Ceremony, father’s Attack probably showed up as “C” and Gerda’s as “D,” I’d venture to guess.
Of course, Allen had had every intention of winning. However, there was something else that he wanted to confirm—specifically, just how strong someone in Normal Mode was. The more monsters someone killed, the higher their level would be. Now, exactly how strong does someone who leveled up under Normal Mode become? And thanks to the arm wrestling session just now, Allen had learned that even someone without a Talent would easily raise their Attack above two hundred.
“Gosh, you’re being immature!” Mathilda scolded, seeing how blatantly Rodin and Gerda were celebrating.
“Your father’s just too strong, Allen,” Theresia said in a comforting tone. She had apparently taken his silence as a sign of him feeling dejected, even though he was actually just occupied with analyzing what had just happened. Still, although she was trying to console Allen, she seemed happy with the result.
“That’s right, Allen! I’m strong! And if you can’t beat me, then I can’t let you take part in the hunts!”
In other words, Rodin was telling Allen that he needed to beat Rodin first if he wanted permission to participate. His cheeks were flushed, indicating that he was already slightly intoxicated.
Yes, he said it! I’ll hold him to it. If I manage to raise Summoning to Lvl. 4 by autumn, I might still have a chance! Father, I won’t let you say you don’t remember all this because you were drunk.
“Okay. I won’t ask to participate in the great boar hunts anymore, not until I can beat you, father,” Allen conceded, making a face and adopting a tone that made it seem like he was giving up.
This face-off between father and son had ended with Rodin’s victory.
Chapter 11: Rank E Summons
Hell yeah! Summoning finally leveled up again!
Spring had given way to summer, and it was now June. Allen basked in a feeling of achievement as he continued washing his family’s laundry in a large tub by stomping on it. Golden lines were glowing at the bottom of the log on the front cover of his grimoire.
<The Skill XP of Strengthening has reached 100,000/100,000. Strengthening has reached Lvl. 4. Summoning has reached Lvl. 4. Expansion has reached Lvl. 3. You have obtained Storage.>
There’s so much information again. But before anything else, let’s look at my Status! I can’t wait to see what’s changed!
Name: Allen
Age: 7
Class: Summoner
Level: 6
HP: 115 (165) + 50
MP: 154 (220) + 100
Attack: 56 (80) + 50
Endurance: 56 (80)
Agility: 108 (155)
Intelligence: 161 (230)
Luck: 108 (155) + 100
Skills: Summoning {4}, Creation {4}, Synthesis {4}, Strengthening {4}, Expansion {3}, Storage, Deletion, Sword Mastery {3}, Throwing {3}
XP: 0/6,000
Skill Levels
Summoning: 4
Creation: 4
Synthesis: 4
Strengthening: 4
Skill Experience
Creation: 256/1,000,000
Synthesis: 120/1,000,000
Strengthening: 0/1,000,000
Creatable Summons
Insect: E, F, G, H
Beast: E, F, G, H
Bird: E, F, G
Grass: E, F
???: E
Holder
Insect:
Beast: F x 10
Bird:
Grass: F x 20
???:
Storage looks like a new skill. Hold on, it doesn’t have levels? It’s not listed under Skill Experience either. Does that mean it can’t be developed?
The first thing that caught Allen’s eye was his brand-new skill. He continued his analysis as he moved onto hanging up the laundry in the yard.
All right, I can check out what Storage does afterward. What’s next? Oh! I really did get access to Rank E Summons from Summoning leveling up! There’s a new “???” which I’ll probably have to figure out the combination for again.
Allen now had a lot more MP than when he first gained access to Rank F Summons. He expected the experimental process to go a lot faster this time.
Gosh, how long has it been since Summoning last leveled up? Whoa, a year and ten months?! That’s Hell Mode for you. And the higher the level, the more it’s gonna take.
Next, Allen checked the pages in his grimoire with card holders.
Nice, now I can store a total of forty cards!
The more cards he held, the more buffs he would receive. And now the number that he could keep on hand had just jumped up from thirty to forty. Rank H cards provided +1 buffs, Rank G provided +2, and Rank F provided +5. Extrapolating off of this, it seemed reasonable to expect Rank E cards to provide even stronger buffs. Allen could foresee these higher ranked Summons and the ten new card slots boosting his Status quite significantly.
Whoo! Would I be able to beat father in arm wrestling now? I’m so glad this level up came before great boar hunting season starts. I gotta find a good time to challenge him again. Would it make for a fun surprise to do it the day before the first hunt of the year?
Allen could not help but do a little jig as he carried another armful of laundry over to the clotheslines for drying.
All right, I think all there’s left to do is figure out Storage and analyze the Rank E Summons. Which should I start with? Well, my MP’s all empty, as it always is after leveling up a skill, so that leaves me with the former.
By this time, Allen had finished hanging up all the laundry, which meant his hands were now free.
Store!
Because he had no idea how to use the new skill, Allen tried chanting internally for it. His grimoire was quite closely linked with his thoughts, so in most cases, he could just mentally will something and the book would respond. And sure enough, the grimoire flipped open, this time to a page that had not been accessible before.
Hm? It’s got a...hole? The heck’s this for?
Smack dab in the middle of the page was a hole thirty centimeters tall and wide. Strangely, it was clearly deeper than the thickness of the book itself. In fact, the bottom was not even visible.
Do I...put things in here?
Allen thought a bit about what to put inside before eventually going with a random twig from the ground. For all he knew, this could be a hyperdimensional pocket that would swallow everything it came into contact with. He slowly and gingerly brought the twig close to the grimoire...and saw its tip going inside with no resistance whatsoever.
Interesting. And if I pull it back out... Yep, there’s the whole twig.
Next, Allen dropped one of his throwing stones into the hole. It disappeared completely from sight.
I’m a bit scared, but let’s try putting my hand inside... Whoa, a list of what’s inside the hole appears directly in my mind!
After this, Allen proceeded to conduct various tests with the Storage page. As always, he then summed up his findings.
10 x Stone
1 x Tree more than a meter tall (Grass F Aroma tree)
20 days of firewood (300 kg)
Water
Does this thing actually have infinite capacity?
The observations that Allen made blew his mind, to put it mildly. As it turned out, he was able to store whatever and however much of it he wanted, as long as it could fit within a thirty-by-thirty-centimeter opening. Throughout all his testing, he never found himself out of capacity and not once did what he put inside disappear to make room.
He was in the middle of putting back all the firewood that he had borrowed, still deep in his thoughts, when Theresia called out from inside the house, “Alleeen, it’s time for lunch!”
“Yes, mother!” Oh wow, it’s already lunchtime. I didn’t notice the time flying. Okay, but seriously, why am I getting this ability now? I must be missing something.
Allen’s findings had left him feeling a vague sense of something being off. Back when he was a gamer, he had learned about carrying capacity and what a large factor it was in the playing experience of a game.
For example, some games had a fixed number of inventory slots, allowing the player to carry only, say, ten or twenty items before having to unload them at a bank or storage facility in order to carry things again. Other games assigned each item a weight and only allowed players to carry items that added up to a certain combined weight value, adjusting this based on player class or level. Conversely, there were also games that simply gave players completely unrestricted inventory from the very start of the game.
What was bothering Allen, in light of all the above scenarios, was that he was receiving this almost god-tier Storage function at such an awkward time. If he had received it back when he turned one year old and first came into his own as a Summoner, then he would have been able to simply accept it. On the other hand, if he never received it at all, he would understand that too. Yet, he had received it when his Summoning reached Lvl. 4, a number that did not carry any immediately understandable significance.
Because Allen had fallen back into his thoughts again, Theresia called him once more. He hurriedly headed inside to help her with preparing the meal. While his hands moved, his mind resumed its speculations.
In games, players received important items right before they needed them. These were all things that, without them, the player would be unable to progress in the game, with some examples being keys, flying carpets, and boats. Games gave out what was needed when it was needed. That was how game developers influenced players to play the way they wanted.
There’s got to be a reason for this. A reason why the Storage function is relevant to me now.
There was no doubt of this in Allen’s mind. After all, the person who gave him this skill was the God of Creation of this world.
＊ ＊ ＊
The next day, Allen was once again analyzing his skills while doing the laundry. He was staring at his grimoire, which floated next to him, as he continued stomping away inside the large barrel.
All right, my MP is full. Time to take a look at these Rank E Summons. Insect and Beast are the only two kinds I can Create outright. Might as well start with Insect. Create: Insect E!
Allen attempted to Create a Rank E card the same way he had been Creating all the other cards to date. However, nothing happened. Normally, this was the point where a card would appear before him in a flash of light.
What? Why? Do I not have enough MP? My MP is 233 now, though!
The memory from several years ago of when he did not have sufficient MP to use Creation Lvl. 2 resurfaced in Allen’s mind. However, he was sure he had more than enough MP now. He looked over at the log on his grimoire, sure that the issue this time lay somewhere else.
Sure enough, the explanation was written out clearly in silver text.
<You do not have enough Rank E magic stones to Create an Insect E card.>
“What?!” Allen unconsciously exclaimed out loud. He was so surprised he almost fell out of the bucket. Magic stones?! I need magic stones to Create all the Summons that are Rank E and above?!
Allen remembered the Rank E magic stones stored in the nursery. He quickly slipped inside the house, being careful not to wake Myulla up from her afternoon nap, and pried up the floorboard to reveal the space where the family kept their valuables. Sure enough, right next to a bag full of silver coins—containing 342 silver that he had earned selling the meat from all the albaherons he caught last year—there were several magic stones. Around the size of the tip of his pinky, these had come from horned rabbits. Just like most other magic stones, these looked almost entirely spherical. As an aside, albaheron magic stones were about the size of the first joint of Allen’s thumb, and great boar magic stones were about as big as a ping-pong ball.
Allen returned outside and resumed stomping on the laundry. With the magic stones in his grip, he attempted to activate Creation once again.
Please let it work this time. Create: Insect E!
Again, nothing happened. Allen checked his grimoire in slight exasperation and found the same line about not having enough magic stones.
I have magic sto— Wait, are you telling me...?!
In a flash of insight, Allen opened his grimoire up to the Storage page and threw all his magic stones inside.
This should do it. Third time’s the charm. Create: Insect E!
This time, a card bearing an illustration of an insect finally appeared before his eyes.
Yes! That did the trick! I see, so this is what Storage is for. So, my Rank E Summon is a butterfly.
Allen saw no need to put it off, so he decided to try Summoning it immediately. The card disappeared in a flash of light, and Insect E appeared.
“Wait, what?! You’re way too bi— Return!”
The instant he laid eyes on the gigantic butterfly measuring over a meter tall, Allen immediately Unsummoned it in a fluster. He could tell that it looked like a swallowtail butterfly from the quick glimpse he caught, but that was it.
Damn, so Rank E Summons can be that big? That’s a problem. So, I can’t casually call them out and analyze them in our front yard anymore, what with there always being someone home. Does this mean the higher the rank, the bigger the Summons will get?
With no other choice, Allen decided to leave Insect E alone for now and Create a Beast E card.
Whoa, this is a saber-toothed tiger! We jumped straight from dog to saber-toothed tiger? Talk about a power-up! All right, now that I have an Insect card and a Beast card, I guess it’s time to move onto Synthesizing. Let’s see what we get.
Allen opened up the Synthesis page in his grimoire and found it different from how he remembered it. Previously, the left page of the spread had two impressions for him to put in the cards he was Synthesizing together and the right page had a single impression where the Synthesized card would appear. Now, however, the left page had three impressions. The two at the top were perfect fits for Summoning cards, but the size of the one at the bottom made it clear it was for something else.
Uh-oh, are you telling me that Synthesis needs magic stones too? I already used two of them just now.
A sense of foreboding filled Allen’s heart. However, he still placed the Insect E and Beast E cards into the impressions on the left page and mentally willed the grimoire to Synthesize a Bird E card. The rank was different, but the general process should still have been the same.
However, nothing happened. So he placed a magic stone into the third impression.
Synthesize!
This time, a new card did indeed appear.
All right, that confirms it: I really do need a magic stone each time I Synthesize. Ugh, this sucks. I’m going to need a lot of magic stones, then.
It was now clear that both Creation and Synthesis required magic stones. Bird cards only required one round of Synthesis, but Grass cards required two rounds.
“Alleeen, it’s almost time for lunch!”
“Yes, mother!”
Allen had been so engrossed with his analyzing that he had failed to notice how much time had passed. When he stepped back into his house, he found Theresia waiting in the earthen-floored area. Mash and Myulla were hanging out in the main room further in. The moment Myulla caught sight of Allen, she started babbling happily. She had brown hair and green eyes and, at a year and three months old, had become capable of crawling all around inside the house.
Back when Allen had turned one, Theresia had returned to the fields to help Rodin out during the times of the day when Allen was asleep. Now that Myulla was the same age, Theresia had planned on doing the same thing, but Allen had stopped her, saying that he would do the field work instead.
Nowadays, Allen also helped Theresia out with making lunch. The family’s fare was light, but five portions together was still a good deal of food.
Soon enough, Rodin returned home, loudly declaring, “I’m back!” Allen had been out in the fields with him until around 10 a.m., when he had come back first to do the laundry.
The scene around the dinner table was the same as always. As he dug into his potato, Rodin suddenly said, “With how big our family’s gotten, I’m thinking it might be time to expand our house. You’d want a room of your own, right, Allen?”
Allen looked up in surprise. “Huh? Uh...not really? I’m fine with how things are. We don’t even have money for expansions, father.”
“What are you saying? We have a pretty tidy sum now thanks to you. It’s more than enough to cover the materials we’d need.”
What?! I’m gathering it to buy our freedom! Please don’t use it for something like this!
Allen had earned a total of 342 silver coins last year by selling the meat from all the albaherons he caught. Of course, he had then given all the money to his father. All possessions belonged to Rodin, as he was the family head.
A total of five thousand silver coins would be needed to lift five people from serfdom. That goal was still very far off, and there was no leeway for any splurging. However, Allen had yet to tell his family this goal of his.
“We really should save it for now. Just in case something happens and we really need money, like someone getting badly hurt again or Myulla getting sick. I really don’t mind sleeping in the nursery with Mash and Myulla.”
“Are you sure?”
Apparently, Rodin was not going to press the issue. He probably thought Allen might change his mind once he grew a bit older.
“Speaking of expansions, father, I heard that the village moat is done?”
“The moat? Oh, yeah, it’s done. You helped out too, didn’t you?”
I knew it. Gah, that’s a problem.
This village was encircled by a wall made of wooden logs. However, there were gaps in between, and every once in a while, weak monsters like horned rabbits would slip through. Although they were of the lowest rank, they could still pose a threat to young children. In order to prevent the monsters from entering, the villagers—more specifically, the serfs—had started digging a moat outside the wall starting a few years back. They only could work on it between January and March during the few months with no farm work. This year even Allen and Rodin had chipped in. And now, the moat was complete. In other words, the horned rabbits with their Rank E magic stones would no longer be wandering into the village.
Would Krena’s place happen to have magic stones?
Allen racked his brains for alternate ways to gather magic stones.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Seriously?” Allen muttered to himself from the middle of his family’s fallow field. After trying for three whole days, he had just discovered his final Rank E Summon. Part of what had made the process take so long was running around gathering all the magic stones he could.
Magic stones could only be found inside the bodies of monsters. According to Pelomas, it was usually close to their hearts. Unlike Allen, he was well-read and was knowledgeable in a wide variety of subjects. According to him, magic stones were often used as a power source for magic tools. An example of a magic tool would be the street lights in the feudal lord’s city.
However, there were no magic tools in this village, which meant there was absolutely zero demand for magic stones. Rank D and Rank C magic stones would be delivered to the feudal lord’s town, of course, but Rank E magic stones were basically treated as trash. It was valued below even one copper coin. Because of this, when the villagers caught horned rabbits, some would simply throw the magic stones out. Gerda belonged to this group—he would haphazardly throw his Rank E magic stones into his front yard. Allen had been able to spot a few and pick them up.
As it turned out, the magic stones in the front yard of Allen’s and Krena’s houses were still insufficient for Allen to Create and Synthesize all the Rank E Summons. It was only after he asked around at the well while drawing in the morning that he finally gathered the number he needed. Because the perceived value of the magic stones was so low, those who had helped Allen out with butchering albaherons last year very readily agreed to share.
Allen had now come to hide in his family’s fallow plot because there was something that he absolutely had to confirm. The problem was that the Summon currently before him towered above the verdant grass all around and was entirely visible to anyone who might cast a glance in his direction. However, his mind was so overwhelmed at the moment that this fact did not occur to him.
“So this...this was the developers’ intention,” he murmured, touching his Summon.
Game elements are carefully and particularly crafted for specific purposes. For example, the developers might want players to use certain builds for respective classes or want them to adopt specific roles in party battles; the way they designed the game would hint at this. The Swordsman class might be given higher Attack and Endurance, making it more viable for fighting up close and drawing the monsters’ attention.
There were those who would intentionally go against these suggestions and play directly opposite to how the developers intended. This was called “memebuilding.” A player could select the Mage class but rely on a mace to deal physical damage. When comparing normal and meme builds it was blatantly obvious which was more viable. Following along with the developer’s intent was crucial to performing well in any game.
If this was a normal game, then it would have walkthrough sites and online forums. However, this was a proper flesh-and-blood world, not a game. Allen had to figure everything out on his own.
For the past seven years, the same question had continued to rattle around in his brain: What is a Summoner? It was his class, but how was he supposed to play it? What was his fighting style supposed to be? What should he do to better align himself with the intentions of the gods and make the most of his class?
It had been clear pretty early on that simply calling forth Summons and making them fight on his behalf was not everything there was to it—the Rank F and H Summons’ Abilities were just too varied. So, what was it then? However, now that he had seen what his Rank E Summons could do, Allen believed he may have begun to see a faint outline of the gods’ designs. He was getting closer to the truth. And the truth shocked him.
The following were the details of the Rank E Summons:
Status of Insect E (Butterfly)
Type: Insect
Rank: E
Name: Ageha
HP: 25
MP: 0
Attack: 20
Endurance: 50
Agility: 50
Intelligence: 24
Luck: 28
Buffs: Endurance 10, Agility 10
Ability: Scale Powder
Status of Beast E (Saber-toothed Tiger)
Type: Beast
Rank: E
Name: Tama
HP: 50
MP: 0
Attack: 50
Endurance: 20
Agility: 35
Intelligence: 28
Luck: 21
Buffs: HP 10, Attack 10
Ability: Claw
Status of Bird E (Hawk)
Type: Bird
Rank: E
Name: Hawkins
HP: 23
MP: 0
Attack: 22
Endurance: 24
Agility: 50
Intelligence: 50
Luck: 27
Buffs: Agility 10, Intelligence 10
Ability: Hawk Eye
Status of Grass E (Edamame)
Type: Grass
Rank: E
Name: Mametaro
HP: 21
MP: 50
Attack: 20
Endurance: 22
Agility: 20
Intelligence: 13
Luck: 50
Buffs: MP 10, Luck 10
Ability: Leaf of Life
Status of Stone E (Dirt Wall)
Type: Stone
Rank: E
Name: Wally
HP: 50
MP: 20
Attack: 33
Endurance: 50
Agility: 20
Intelligence: 23
Luck: 28
Buffs: HP 10, Endurance 10
Ability: Harden
Allen was so startled that his mind went blank for a short while. When he returned to his senses, he quickly reverted Stone E to card form. Then he took a closer look at the page on his grimoire where the Statuses of all his new Summons were listed out.
If I’m reading this right...there is a specific role that’s being assigned to each type of Summon, right?
Without ado, Allen applied himself to sorting through his observations and writing them all down.
Insect Type (Abilities: Provoke, Suction, Scale Powder)
Provoke robs enemies of their ability to think straight, and Suction lowers enemies’ Attack. Based on this, it seems likely that the Insect type is specialized for casting debuffs. Judging by its name, Scale Powder probably inflicts a status debuff on enemies like confusion, paralysis, or sleep.
Beast Type (Abilities: Dig, Chomp, Claw)
Possessing high HP and Attack, this is the only type properly specced for attacking. This type will be the main source of damage when fighting against monsters. Will probably only ever be using the highest-ranked Summon from this type.
Bird Type (Abilities: Voice Mimic, Transmission, Hawk Eye)
Voice Mimic is capable of mimicking other people’s voices and using them to say anything. Should be useful when infiltrating enemy camps. Transmission makes it possible to convey information to someone faraway. Hawk Eye is likely for scouting. Based on all this, the Bird type seems specialized for intelligence and information gathering.
Grass Type (Abilities: Aroma, Leaf of Life)
This type is specialized for recovery. Leaf of Life is, based on the name, likely something that helps restore HP. It seems likely future additions to this type will be offering recovery in other areas.
Stone Type (Abilities: Harden)
The Stone E Summon seems perfect for ducking behind in order to evade incoming attacks. This is likely a type specialized for defense and tanking.
Although Allen had not yet started experimenting with the Rank E Summons, there was a lot that he could glean from just the names of their Abilities. It was becoming clear how each type of Summon had its own role. This was further substantiated by how the Summons had the two stats most relevant to their respective roles bumped up higher than all the rest.
So, a Summoner is someone who is able to handle all roles in a fight, be it attacking, defending, debuffing, healing, and scouting. I imagine later additions will continue expanding the range of what I can do.
In other words, the single class of Summoner was equipped to fulfill the roles of multiple classes. Just to list a few, it had means to attack like a Swordsman, heal like a Cleric, and scout like a Thief. Unlocking other kinds of Summons would probably enable Allen to do even more things in the future that he currently could not.
Allen took this to be the intention of the developers, or the gods, behind the Summoner class. He opened up his grimoire and turned to stare at the Storage page. It was connected to a hyperdimensional pocket that was, in all likelihood, completely infinite in volume and could store anything and everything that fit through its thirty-by-thirty-centimeter entrance.
I am going to need so many magic stones going forward.
Allen had also written down in his notes how many magic stones he would need for each type of Summon.
Insect: 1
Beast: 1
Bird: 3
Grass: 5
Stone: 9
According to this pattern, the types that show up later on down the road would require even greater numbers of magic stones. Even now, if Allen intended on filling all forty slots in his holder with Stone E, he would need a total of 360 magic stones.
So, the reason why I was given the Storage skill was so I wouldn’t have to walk around constantly lugging tens to hundreds of magic stones all the time. After all, the physical size of the magic stones also goes up with rank.
As Allen continued mulling over his epiphany, a scene unfolded within his mind. He saw himself in his ultimate form as a Summoner. Surrounding him was an endless horde of Summons, an invincible army capable of dealing with any situation and triumphing over all who stood in its way. The Summons would take care of everything. All enemies would be ground to dust before the might of this legendary host.
“An invincible army, huh. So this is the power of a Summoner, the class that surpasses even Demon Lord.”
Allen was so overwhelmed he ended up blurting his thoughts out loud. Now, he was even more motivated to take his class as far as it could go. Allen...had just had a glimpse of the gods’ will.
＊ ＊ ＊
It was now mid-September. Soon, summer would be giving way to autumn.
“You ready to go?”
“Yes, father.”
Today, Rodin and Allen were heading out first thing in the morning. Yesterday, Deboji had sent a messenger. To Rodin’s surprise, the village chief wanted to see both him and Allen this time. The reason for the summons was not provided.
As always, Theresia, Mash, and Myulla were staying home. They saw Rodin and Allen off at the front door.
“Yo, Rodin. I knew it—you got called too.”
Along the way, the father and son bumped into Gerda, who fell into step with them.
Well, it’s not surprising. Father and Gerda are the two who usually get summoned by the village chief—in fact, I’m the odd one out here.
It was not uncommon for the village chief to call for Rodin and Gerda, as they were the de facto leaders of the serfs in the village. The great boar hunts were not the only reason Deboji would summon them—he would also ask them to take care of a large variety of minor miscellaneous affairs, such as mediating disputes between serfs. That said, it was mostly Rodin who took care of such intervention requests, as Gerda would resort to using his fists too quickly.
“Did you hear what he wants us for this time, Gerda?”
“Nah, I was only told to come.”
I mean, if it’s all three of us, then it’s very likely going to be about the great boar hunts. Does Deboji have something to say now, with the hunts starting up next month? He already told us to hunt fifteen last year and twenty this year. Has something changed?
During the past three months, Allen had done everything he could to gather magic stones. He called out to the other serfs while drawing water, got on his hands and knees in Krena’s garden to poke between the weeds, reached out to Dogora and Pelomas, and even hit up every store in the commercial area to ask if they had magic stones they did not need. Thanks to his backbreaking efforts, he ultimately managed to obtain more than two hundred stones.
Now there were quite a lot of Grass E cards in his storage. The reason he chose to go with Grass E was for the MP boost it provided. The more MP he had, the faster he could reach Summoning Lvl. 5, which would require a total of 3,000,000 Skill XP.
He was currently debating internally whether to join the great boar hunts next month. If he was to focus on accruing XP, then he should go. However, if he was to focus on earning money to free his family from serfdom, then staying home to hunt albaherons was the smarter choice by far. In short, he was now torn on what he should be prioritizing: XP or money. Because of this, he had yet to challenge Rodin again in arm wrestling. And in fact, he expected the outcome of today’s talk to be a factor in helping him make a decision.
Allen remained absorbed in his thoughts the entire way as the group of three made their way to the village chief’s house. When they stepped inside, they found themselves immediately escorted to Deboji’s room, where he welcomed them with outstretched arms.
“There you guys are. I’ve been waiting.”
“So, why’d you summon us? And why’d you want Allen too?”
Oh wow, father’s starting with the big question. I like it. Seriously, do I even need to be here? Is it that the equipment I requested is complete and he wants me to explain how they’re meant to be used?
“Now, now, there’s no hurry,” Deboji replied before gesturing for his servants to lay tea and snacks on the table.
What?! These are actual confectionaries! It’s my first time seeing any in this world. And they’re... Oh my god, they’re so gooood!
The cookies, made from wheat and sugar, disappeared into Allen’s mouth at an alarming rate. He had a huge sweet tooth.
In contrast, Rodin and Gerda simply frowned, showing no intention of reaching toward the plate. Deboji had never served them tea before when they visited, much less snacks.
“So? What’d you call us for?” Rodin asked again, his voice even more colored with wariness than before.
After taking another sip of tea and sighing softly, Deboji said, “The feudal lord is coming to Krena Village next month.” Ignoring the confounded “What?!” from all three members of his audience, he then continued, “And he wants to see a great boar hunting session in person. Even I learned of this only yesterday. A messenger just arrived.”
“You mean, we have to bring down a great boar while His Lordship is watching?” Gerda asked in a tone of disbelief.
Without missing a beat, Deboji replied, “That’s exactly right.”
Both Rodin and Gerda looked completely taken back. Allen would be turning eight next month, but not once had he ever heard talk of the feudal lord coming to their village. In fact, this might be the very first time since the village’s founding thirteen years ago.
What’s this? Talk about a sudden development, Allen thought before asking out loud, “Around when in October would he be coming?”
“I was told the middle of the month,” Deboji answered before murmuring softly, “I knew it.”
Allen noticed the strange reaction, but before he could say anything, Rodin asked, “And? What do you want us to do?”
“Just make sure the hunt goes off without a hitch. His Lordship will be watching, after all.”
“We always do our best to make the hunts go off without a hitch. Okay, so the feudal lord is coming. How does that involve my boy?”
“The messenger also said that someone would be needed to accompany His Lordship and serve as his guide.”
“What?!” both Rodin and Gerda exclaimed in unison when they saw Deboji turn to face Allen.
Allen pointed at himself. “Uh...me?”
“Mr. Deboji, if it has to be a kid, you’ve got one of your own too!”
“My son is a bit of a late bloomer, I guess you could say. Or more like, he’s not very suited for this kind of thing. Allen would have to serve His Lordship at the dinner feast the night before the hunt as well. Do you think he’d be up to it?”
Ah, so it’s not just explaining what’s happening during the hunt. Wait, is that why Deboji laid out snacks? Hmph, I’m not cheap enough to be bought off with something like this!
In spite of his thoughts, Allen threw another piece of cookie into his mouth.
Rodin groaned loudly as he thought hard about it. Of course, the right to answer did not lie with Allen, but with his father. After all, this was the feudal lord they were talking about. If Allen messed anything up in the presence of the feudal lord, it was Rodin who would have to take responsibility.
“I heard that it was Allen who devised both the new equipment and your current hunting method,” Deboji pointed out, pressing his point. “He speaks clearly and has a sharp mind. He’s perfect for the role.”
Allen stared at Rodin as his own thoughts rattled around inside his head. He had no interest whatsoever in status—beyond that of his family living free and comfortably, that was. Back when he was Kenichi and creating his character for this world, he had seen that the Summoner class was restricted to being born as a serf, and this had not made him hesitate in the slightest.
Even now, he felt no desire at all to climb his way up into nobility after obtaining commoner citizenship. Rather, he would do everything in his power to avoid any situation that could potentially saddle him with a noble status, as he could only imagine it being a shackle that would prevent him from dedicating himself to leveling up. Serving the country was absolutely out of the question.
That said, being a serf came with rather severe limitations.
As long as I’m a serf, I wouldn’t be able to go outside the village. That means I can’t level up freely.
The only time in the year when Allen could earn levels was during the brief window in autumn when he could hunt both great boars and albaherons. His Rank E Summons remained largely unanalyzed, and there was much about even his Rank F Summons that he had not been able to explore yet. He very desperately wanted to do something to improve his current situation.
At the same time, he also felt driven to raise his family’s living conditions.
If I remember right, there are two ways of escaping being a serf, right? According to what Gerda said, the first is to buy your way out, with the price being ten gold coins per person, and the second is for the feudal lord to grant you commoner status as a reward for some contribution or achievement.
Last autumn, Allen had done everything he could to earn money, and yet he had only gathered a little over three gold coins. At this rate, it would take him over ten years to free his entire family. There was no telling what could happen to them within such a long period of time, especially with how little freedom of movement they had and how low their social status was.
I’d been trying to decide between joining the boar hunts and staying home to hunt albaherons, but now the answer is as clear as day.
“Father.”
“Hm? What’s the matter, Allen?”
“Please let me be the feudal lord’s guide.”
“What?!”
“I’ve got to tell him how hard you and everyone else in the hunting party are working!” Allen beamed brightly. If I can convince the feudal lord of the enormity of what father’s done so far, he just might make him a commoner.
Deboji’s face lit up. “Ohhh! You’re interested, boy?!”
Rodin looked surprised but did not express his opposition. Neither did Gerda. By now, they both had faith that Allen actually could accomplish what he said he could do.
“So, what’re we gonna do now?” Gerda asked, moving the conversation along.
“Mr. Deboji, is the equipment I asked for done yet?”
“Mm-hm, they’re in my warehouse. You want to see them now?”
“Yes, please. I want to go over how they’re meant to be used and how it would affect the way the hunts go.”
Allen had decided to dedicate himself to the great boar hunts. With the feudal lord coming soon next month, it was time to kick things up a notch.
Chapter 12: The Feudal Lord’s Visit
It was now mid-October. Allen had turned eight.
The feudal lord would be arriving that day. Allen would have to serve him during the feast that evening, as well as accompany him the following day so as to explain everything happening during the great boar hunt. If the lord had any questions, it would be Allen’s job to answer them.
And so Allen got up bright and early and, after grooming himself, headed for the village chief’s house. Neither Rodin nor Gerda was with him, as he was the only one granted permission to see the feudal lord.
Allen arrived before 9 a.m., then went into sleep mode—literally, in his case. A little before noon, a commoner working at the house woke him up and told him to take a bath to wash himself up.
A bath! I think this will be my first proper bath in this world. The most I’ve done is take a dip in a pool of well water.
A few times by this point, especially on the hottest days in summer, Allen had drawn a large tub of water and gotten in naked. Because he was a serf, he had no access to soap, and had just wiped himself down with a hemp cloth.
Now, Allen sighed with satisfaction as he lowered himself into the heated water. He soaked inside for a bit, then scrubbed his body thoroughly before the water cooled off.
After his bath, Allen received a fresh set of clothes. The outfit was made of material noticeably nicer than what even commoners normally wore.
Then Allen was made to wait another three hours. This time he was to stay awake and on standby, just in case.
C’mon, what’s the point of making me wait around for this long?
Nearly an hour had passed since Allen heard the 3 p.m. bell ring. Only then did the feudal lord’s procession finally arrive at the village, sending everyone inside the house into a frenzy of activity. By the time the feudal lord reached the house, he and his party found a feast waiting for them to enjoy by themselves. Deboji, as the representative of the village, was the only person to join them at the table.
Allen had questioned Deboji about the feudal lord beforehand. The lord lived in Granvelle City, the capital of this fiefdom, which was a five days’ journey from the village. The current head of House Granvelle, Baron Granvelle, was who Allen would be serving. As he had been on the road for the past five days, he was sure to be quite spent.
While Allen was busy mentally reviewing everything he had learned, before he knew it, it became time for him to make his appearance. The spacious kitchen in the village chief’s house was currently a war zone, with five or six women all rushing about, cooking their own dishes simultaneously. They then artfully plated the dishes one after the other in quick succession.
Deboji stood before the door leading into the dining hall, looking quite nervous. The feudal lord was already seated and waiting inside. Deboji told Allen to follow him closely, took a deep breath, then walked in and gave his greetings.
“Please allow me to extend my warmest welcome on behalf of Krena Village,” Deboji said to the lord’s party before continuing in a voice loud enough to be heard through the door, “Bring in the food.”
Allen began bringing the dishes over to the lone table within the large hall.
The person all the way in the back should be the feudal lord.
The man sitting in the seat furthest from the door—in other words, the seat of honor—had pale purple hair and eyes that looked as sharp as a hawk’s. His features, which gave him the appearance of a man in his mid-forties, conveyed his no-nonsense personality.
Allen wordlessly carried the dish to the feudal lord’s seat, doing his utmost not to stare. After the lord, he then served everyone else. The kitchen staff had placed all their finished plates on a table near the dining hall entrance, sparing Allen the trouble of returning all the way to the kitchen. As such, he only had to go back and forth between the entrance and the dining table. For some reason, only he had been entrusted with the full service during the meal, while the other servants remained entirely hands-off.
So, I have to bring the feudal lord his plate first, then to the five others here, including Deboji. Hm? There’s a child at the table. Is she the baron’s daughter?
Allen carried the food over to each person in turn. First the feudal lord, then the butler-like man with white hair and a mustache next to him, then the knight captain and vice-captain whom he recognized from when they visited the village to meet Krena. Sitting on the other side of the feudal lord was a young girl who also had pale purple hair. She appeared to be around Allen’s age.
The girl also seemed curious about seeing a boy her own age in attendance. She kept shooting glances at Allen.
*
“Deboji, you have done well in expanding this village,” the baron said to the village chief.
“Th-Thank you, milord.”
“It has been fifteen years since the Land Reclamation Decree was issued, and there are no other fiefdoms which have been as successful as ours. Deboji, you are the one who has brought the villagers together and directed them through all the development thus far. I say this once again: you have done well.”
“Land Reclamation Decree”? What’s that?
Allen kept his ears perked as the feudal lord praised the village chief. After all, there was no telling when he might pick up on information that might affect how tomorrow’s great boar hunt would proceed.
Deboji bobbed his head in deference. “I did it for your and the people’s sake, milord.” His appetizer lay almost entirely untouched. Granted, eating was the last thing on the chief’s mind at the moment.
“I do apologize about the matter of the great boar meat. It was an order from His Majesty, after all.”
Hold on, the king of this country is the one telling us to hunt more great boars? The scale of this conversation suddenly blew up.
Because the topic of the conversation had now turned toward the great boar hunts, Allen started paying even more attention. He had to continue serving all the while, which kept him very busy indeed.
“H-His Majesty’s order?!”
“Indeed. To be more exact, it was Lord Carnel who instigated it. That reprobate was the one who broached the topic of the great boar hunts during a royal audience. Thanks to that big mouth of his...” Lord Granvelle seemed to quiver with anger at the memory. His glare sharpened and his attitude underwent such a sudden change that it left Deboji in a cold sweat.
Without even looking at the baron, the butler-like person, who appeared to be around sixty years old, interjected, “Master, you are frightening the good village chief. As long as the quota of twenty beasts is achieved, your reputation will surely improve once again.”
“Hm? Ah, yes. Apologies, Village Chief Deboji. Put simply, mention of the hunts reached His Majesty’s ear, and thus he ordered the number of hunts be increased.”
“Of course, milord.”
As the feudal lord revealed the circumstances behind his quota for twenty great boars—sharing only information that was absolutely necessary—it became time to bring in the main course, a meat dish. Allen laid the plates before each person at the table in turn.
After taking a bite, the feudal lord’s eyes widened. “Mm?! What is this meat? It is delicious!”
“It really is!” agreed his daughter, equally impressed.
“What sort of meat is this, Village Chief Deboji?” the feudal lord asked again.
“What? It’s, uh...”
When Deboji faltered, struggling for words to answer the sudden question, Allen sidled close to the table. “Kindly allow me the honor of answering, my lord. This is albaheron meat. The beast was caught yesterday and presented to the village chief to serve to Your Lordship. The cuts being served are of the breast, thigh, and liver. Herbs have been used in abundance to impart flavor.”
“Mm? Is that so...”
All eyes turned to look at Allen. Those at the table had all been curious this whole time about the child with very unusual black hair and eyes who was waiting on them. Allen, who noticed the gazes, bobbed his head briefly in acknowledgment before continuing to retrieve the dirty plates. Although there were only six people seated, he was the only person serving. Therefore he needed to move quickly at all times. He briskly made the trip back and forth between the table and the room’s entrance multiple times.
“What a well-raised son you have, Deboji. I have never heard you mention him before.”
“Huh? Oh no, milord. This child is not mine,” Deboji replied in a fluster. “He’s the son of a man named Rodin.”
“Rodin?”
The knight captain, who had shared the table with Allen at the feast two years ago, started. “Ah yes, I remember him now! My lord, this boy is the son of one of the two men who spearhead the great boar hunts.”
The feudal lord turned toward Allen. “You are Boar Hunter Rodin’s son?”
“Yes, my lord. I am Allen, son of Rodin. I have also been granted the honor of accompanying Your Lordship on tomorrow’s hunt.”
“Deboji, is Rodin a former noble? His son seems very well-mannered.”
“N-No, milord. Rodin’s line has always been serfs. I knew Rodin’s father personally.”
That moment, the girl who Allen thought was the feudal lord’s daughter exclaimed, “Huh?! There’s a serf in this room with us?!” Her head whipped around to stare at Allen, her charming face scrunched up in disgust.
“Wh—?!” The feudal lord turned to rebuke her. “Cecil! Serfs are important denizens of our realm too! Do not ever say anything of that nature again!”
“I-I’m very sorry, father...” the girl apologized, tears in her eyes. However, she then immediately turned to shoot Allen a dirty look, as if she was blaming him for her getting scolded. Her eyes, which were slanted rather like a hawk’s—a feature she had clearly inherited from her father—and crimson in color, overflowed with emotion.
Allen averted his gaze on purpose. Why’s she glaring at me like that? What’d I even do?
“So then, Allen,” Lord Granvelle said, picking the conversation up where he had left off. “You said you will be the one accompanying me on tomorrow’s hunt?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Make sure to properly explain what the hunters are doing at the time.”
“Of course, my lord.”
“And Zenof, make sure to listen closely to his account.”
“Yes, Your Lordship!”
Oh, the knight captain’s name is Zenof? Wait, why is he supposed to listen to me? What’s going on?
Seeing the questioning look on Allen’s face, Zenof said, “Son of Rodin, understand that the quota of twenty boars is a royal decree. In other words, it must be achieved at all costs.”
“Yes, sir.” Allen turned toward the knight captain and bowed his head to indicate that he was listening. He’s going to explain things to me?
“After we observe tomorrow’s hunt, if we determine that it would be difficult for this village’s hunting party to meet the quota without aid, we knights will join in as well.”
Wait, so they’re not here just to observe?
The reason why the feudal lord had come to the village was finally made clear. Although Krena Village had indeed successfully met the quota of fifteen boars last year, there was no guarantee they could reach twenty this year. The feudal lord had grown concerned and therefore brought his knights to the village to help out if necessary. It was all to ensure that the royal decree from the king was properly carried out.
“Thank you for the kind explanation, milord.” Deboji bowed in thanks, a look of understanding on his face.
“My lord,” Allen said, drawing the feudal lord’s attention back to himself.
“What is it? Do not worry. If you explain things well, my knights will take care of everything else. You may rest assured.”
“I’m sorry, my lord. That’s not it. All I wanted to say is, twenty is nothing.”
Deboji choked on his saliva as the feudal lord and knight captain both widened their eyes in surprise.
“Tomorrow, Krena Village will show you, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that we can definitely fulfill the quota of twenty great boars when we all work together.”
Allen spoke clearly and firmly, lowering his head as all six pairs of eyes focused on him. There was no hesitation whatsoever in his demeanor. He sounded so sure of himself that everyone found their breath taken away.
＊ ＊ ＊
After the dinner was over, Allen stayed the night in the village chief’s house. The next morning, everyone sprang into action at 6 a.m. As Allen had not brought any luggage with him, he was ready to go at any time. All he did was tie his wooden sword to his waist the way he always did.
Eventually, together with the feudal lord, the knight captain, and the knight vice-captain, he left Deboji’s house. The feudal lord’s daughter stayed behind at the house with the butler-like man—who turned out to be, in fact, a butler. Allen recalled him being referred to as “Sebas” during the previous night’s meal.
Wow, the village square’s been converted into a camping ground.
The open area in the center of town was now filled with knights’ tents. They had set up camp in case they would indeed have to take part in the great boar hunts and would therefore need to remain in this village for a while. And without quarters or anywhere else to stay, naturally they needed to erect their own tents.
The knights had finished their preparations by the time the feudal lord and his group reached them. Instead of riding their horses, they were to march on foot behind the feudal lord.
Oh hey, I see Dogora!
Allen spotted his friend peering at the knights from a distance away with sparkling eyes. There were twenty knights this time, twice the number that came to see Krena years ago.
Soon enough, the procession reached the village gate where a group of forty commoners and serfs were standing in wait. This was the hunting party, including everyone who had participated in the previous years’ hunts plus a few newcomers.
“They’re wearing armor!” the knight captain exclaimed as he noticed what half the men had on.
Allen nodded. “Yes, sir. That is leather armor created from great boar hide. We have not been able to outfit everyone as of yet, so we prioritized those who needed it most.”
“What do you mean by ‘need it most’?”
“It would be easier to explain at the hunt itself, sir.”
A look of understanding dawned on the feudal lord’s face. “So this was the reason behind Deboji’s petition.”
Last year, the feudal lord had received the report that this hunting party had successfully brought down eighteen great boars. However, Deboji had, on their behalf, requested permission to keep everything other than the meat for eight of the eighteen carcasses. This, too, had been Allen’s suggestion.
Because the feudal lord wanted meat, they would send the meat. However, Allen’s idea was to use the skin, bones, tusks, and horns of eight great boars as an investment to improve the quality of future hunts. Of course, Allen had gone to Rodin and Gerda first, and it was the two of them who had approached Deboji.
The feudal lord had accepted their petition, especially in light of how the group had surpassed the quota of fifteen boars. He had agreed, on the condition that they successfully manage to hunt twenty this year.
“Yes, my lord,” Allen replied. “The materials we saved went toward preparations that will ensure we can fulfill the quota of twenty great boars this year.”
“Impressive.”
“Of course, it was my father, Rodin’s idea,” Allen added. His aim today was to hype up Rodin as much as possible, emphasizing the enormity of his contributions in the hope of convincing the feudal lord to grant his entire family commoner status. As such, Allen was crediting Rodin with all the ideas he himself had come up with. After all, his ideas would sound more credible coming from an adult than a child anyway.
As everyone was now gathered, they all began making their way toward the hunting grounds. The serfs and commoners walked ahead with the knights taking up the rear. There were only two men on horseback—the knight captain, who ordered Allen to join him in the saddle, and the feudal lord, who had foregone the comfort of the carriage that he had ridden to Krena Village in.
Three hours later, the group arrived at the usual hunting grounds. There was a strange new structure there now. It was a two-meter-tall platform made of wood that was large enough for ten people to stand on.
“Mm? What is that?” the feudal lord asked.
“This was created to make your viewing easier, my lord. If you would please climb to the top.”
The lord nodded, then climbed up the ladder on the back of the structure. He took one of the seats that had been installed at the top. Allen and Zenof also climbed up after him. The vice-captain remained on the ground, coordinating with the other knights to surround the structure as protection of their lord.
When you think about it, the feudal lord coming in person to a forest filled with monsters is pretty incredible, isn’t it? That must take a lot of guts. Is the royal decree that huge of a deal? What used to be just “hunt so we can eat” now has so much more hanging on the line.
“What happens now?” Zenof asked. Allen caught on that he was supposed to explain to the knight captain and not the feudal lord directly, who was currently staring into the depths of the forest with his hawk-like eyes.
“First, three people will go and lure a great boar toward this location.”
“Then?”
“Simply put, the rest then surround it— Ah, the three fishers are heading out now.” They watched Pekej and his two companions vanish into the forest.
“And those down there holding large shields will be using them to stop the great boar’s charge?” the knight captain asked, looking impressed at their design.
The hide, bones, tusks, and horns from eight great boars had gone toward making a pair of two-meter-high leather shields, seventeen pieces of leather armor, and three chest protectors. Krena Village did not have an armor craftsman capable of creating everything listed above, so they had called upon one from a neighboring village. All of the leftover materials—and there was quite a bit, considering the size of the great boars—had gone to the craftsman in exchange for him not charging any money.
“Yes, sir. With two of them, we are able to pin a charging boar from both sides.”
“I see.”
The knight captain observed the serfs and commoners in their positions as well as the two impressive shields. He already had a general idea of what was to come.
An hour passed, but Pekej and his men had yet to return. They were the team equipped with the three chest protectors. These were defensive items designed to protect only the vital chest area while still being as lightweight as possible.
Hm? It’s taking kinda long. Are they having trouble finding the right target? Pekej once told me that there’re several hundred great boars in this forest and that they migrate en masse from the foot of the White Dragon Mountains.
“By the way, is Sword Lord Krena doing well?” Zenof asked, as if being considerate by breaking the awkward silence.
“Absolutely, sir.” More like, too well. She’s practically a bottomless fountain of energy.
“I see. We will be sending her a tutor three springs from now. Let her know when you can.”
“Of course, sir.” So, it’d be when she’s eleven, and she’d have one year to study.
“Hm? Will that be sufficient? Can we not send the tutor earlier?” the feudal lord interjected. After all, if Krena failed the entrance exam, he would be made a laughingstock in the capital.
“Then I shall instruct Sebas to send the tutor the year after next instead.”
“Mm, do that. If she fails, that headmaster will reject her, Sword Lord or no.”
Looks like Lord Granvelle is quite the worrywart. All right, so it’ll be a year and a half before Krena starts studying. When I imagine her wearing a headband with the word “Success!” on it—
The thunderous sound approaching the hunting grounds dragged Allen back from his thoughts. “Here it comes, sir.”
“Mm.”
A cry of “GUMOOOOOHHHHHH!!!” shook the very air in the clearing. At the same time, Rodin roared a word of encouragement that all the other men immediately returned in kind. Pekej burst from the treeline, soon followed by the massive body of a great boar. It was hot on his heels, as if it was blind to everything but Pekej. This was thanks to Pekej’s masterful pulling technique. He intentionally kept himself just out of the boar’s reach.
Pekej dashed between the large shields. Standing behind the shields was the four-man team led by Gerda. Instead of holding spears like before, they were doubled up and braced for impact.
Sure enough, the boar charged straight into the large shields. Both groups worked together to stop it in its tracks. The huge tusks on the beast’s snout dented the shields, but they otherwise held fast.
“This is how we stop the monster’s charge. That shield is made with two layers of leather taken from the back of a great boar, the toughest part of its hide. We also have two men handling one shield together.”
“I see.”
“And now, after stopping the beast, we encircle it to stop it from struggling.”
As Allen continued with the detailed commentary, the shield bearers backed off. A group carrying the same two-meter-long spears from the previous hunts took their place to pin the monster down, with special focus on its head. Then, at Gerda’s order, another group wielding four-meter-long spears stepped forward from behind. There were now so many hunters that their attacks rained down on the beast from all directions, not just its front.
“The long spear group is something we added last year. It is perfect for incorporating newcomers lacking experience.”
“You have also distributed the defensive equipment prioritizing the shield bearers and those wielding the short spears.”
“That is correct, sir. The long spear group has trained to avoid accidentally stabbing the front line from the back, but just in case, the front line is wearing armor that protects their backs, necks, and heads.”
The knight captain nodded in acknowledgment, his eyes still fixed on the action. With the monster properly locked down, it was time for Rodin’s team of spearmen to shine. They stabbed with all their weight behind their thrusts, aiming for the beast’s vital areas.
“The hide of a great boar is extremely tough. We aim for its neck after robbing it of its freedom of movement. Ah, someone has punctured its jugular.”
“Well done!” the knight captain exclaimed inadvertently upon seeing the fountain of blood suddenly gush out.
“My lord.”
“Yes, Zenof?”
“These people may not be knights. However, they are warriors. Boar-hunting warriors.”
Just like knights, members of this hunting party each had their own clear-cut role. Knights had spearmen, bowmen, and scouts, and the absence of any one group could greatly affect the performance of the remaining groups. Zenof had seen a similar framework in how this great boar hunt was being carried out. He was impressed with how all members of the hunting party performed their respective duties with full understanding of the role they played. He repeated “Wonderful!” several more times before the great boar finally collapsed onto its side.
“That was indeed a spectacular battle. I am now reassured that this group does indeed have the ability to hunt twenty great boars within the year,” Lord Granvelle declared. He had been nodding multiple times while the hunt was going on.
“That certainly does seem to be the case,” Zenof agreed before jerking with a start. “Hm? The other two scouts appear to have returned. Why are they running at full speed?”
The hunt was supposedly over, and yet the two men burst from the trees just as Pekej had done. Before Allen had time to reply, however, the captain’s answer itself came barreling into view.
“GUMOOHHHHHH!”
Two great boars came charging in, their eyes bloodshot. With their pursuers gaining on them, the two fishers dashed straight toward the rest of the hunting party.
“What?! Leibrand! There are two boars!” Zenof shouted from the top of the viewing stand, ordering the troops below to ready themselves for battle. They had to protect both the feudal lord and the members of the hunting party.
However, just as Leibrand began commanding his men to get into formation, Allen said in a calm voice, “Apologies, Sir Zenof.”
“What is it at this time?!”
“The hunt is still in progress. Please have your men stand down.”
“What?!” exclaimed both Zenof and Lord Granvelle, the latter of whom had also been listening.
Allen continued, “As I mentioned yesterday, we are here today to demonstrate, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that we hunters of Krena Village can definitely meet your quota. The hunt continues.”
Even as Allen was speaking, the two great boars had almost closed in on the hunters. The knights would not make it in time even if they were to charge forward now.
“THERE’RE TWO OF THEM THIS TIME! GET FIRED UP, MEN!!!”
“YESSIR!!!”
The forty-or-so men suddenly psyched themselves up, responding to Rodin’s encouragement with an even louder roar than before. There was no fear or hesitation in their manner as they surged forward and assumed formation in front of the carcass of the great boar they had already killed.
The fishers dashed past the two large shields. Seconds later, the shields slammed against the charging great boars. Unlike before, there were now only two people holding back each beast. The vicious horns on the monsters’ snouts gouged the shields’ surfaces. The shield-bearers retreated one step, then another. Their shields were caved in, but were still holding fast. Before long, they forced the great boars to a halt.
“They’ve stopped! Split up and surround them!”
Following Gerda’s command, both his team and the group wielding long spears divided and swiftly assumed positions, their steps sure and practiced. Half of a party of forty was still more than enough to deal with a single great boar. Without ado, Rodin and his team also broke up into four smaller groups to stab at the beasts from both sides, aiming for their vital areas just as before.
All right, the timing for bringing two great boars right after killing one was perfect! All that practice paid off.
Before, Allen had always wondered why the hunting party only ever killed one great boar per hunt. The idea behind the pulling strategy—at least, in the games that he used to play—was to kill every monster that aggroed. Losing mobs on purpose was an unthinkable waste. When he heard the details, however, he learned that the hunting party was intentionally splitting up great boar groups because, quite simply, they were only capable of handling a single boar.
So then, the question became, “Why is it that they can only hunt one?” After really mulling it over, Allen concluded that the fault in their strategy lay not in the hunters’ levels, weapons, or numbers. No, it was their armor. The serfs were not equipped with proper armor able to withstand attacks from great boars. Hemp provided practically zero protection. Even Rodin, who had been participating in these hunts for over a decade, was left at death’s door after taking a single attack.
However, procuring armor was not easy. The reward for participating in the hunts was meat, which would be used up to sustain each hunter and their family’s livelihood. No one had the financial leeway to buy themselves armor. Compared to the cost of the short sword Allen had inquired about back in the village weapons shop, the price of a large steel shield was astronomical.
The only thing that the villagers could afford to upgrade was their spears. The two-meter-long ones were especially short for weapons classified as polearms. This length was a compromise—if the spear was too long, it would snap when under stress; if it was too short, the wielders were susceptible to attacks from the great boar’s tusks and horns. And this group of hunters had been hunting for ten years using these same fittings.
The way Allen saw it, continuously upgrading one’s equipment was a basic of hunting. By upgrading, one improves their ability to hunt more efficiently and chase bigger prey. True to that theory, Allen acquired shields and armor for the party, and they were now powerful enough to hunt two boars at the same time.
Allen heaved a small sigh of relief seeing the strategy go off without a hitch. The group had only attempted it twice before; today’s hunt was their third time.
If Lord Granvelle had come a bit later, we would have been able to get more practice in, but I suppose this is fine.
Soon enough, blood spurted from the neck of the second great boar thanks to someone piercing its jugular. Then the third monster also succumbed in short order.
“Ohhhh!” Zenof exclaimed. “The killing blow has been dealt!”
“And that is all three great boars. I am glad it went well,” Allen replied.
“A job well done indeed. And since the party killed three today, there are only seventeen left to go.”
“A correction if I may, sir. Including these three from today, we have now killed ten this year.”
Both the feudal lord and knight captain exclaimed, “What?!”
The hunting party had already gone out several times after receiving word of the feudal lord’s visit. More specifically, today marked their fourth hunt of the year.
“As I said, we will be able to meet the quota without issue. With this, we’ve made our case.”
The feudal lord’s sharp and somewhat slanted eyes stared at the hunters happily patting each other’s backs for a hunt well done. There were traces of a warm smile on his face.
“That is a relief. You have convinced me that I can trust this village to bring down twenty great boars this year.” In other words, he was indirectly acknowledging that he would not be deploying his knights nor relocating serfs from other villages.
Allen bowed. “Your words give us reassurance, my lord. However, there are two requests I have that would affect the future of these hunts.”
“What manner of requests?” the knight captain asked, looking mystified. “What is there to improve upon after today’s results?”
“There are members of the hunting party who are still underequipped. And if possible, we would want at least two more large shields.”
“Hm...”
Allen proceeded to elaborate. The armor was self-evident, but if the party had three large shields, they could eventually hunt three great boars at the same time. The fourth one would be a spare. There was no telling how long a shield would last, as they had only been used four times as of today. It would be wise to have an extra on hand.
“I see. So you want to improve the party’s equipment in preparation for next year’s hunts and beyond.”
“Yes, sir. What’s more, there is something else I am worried about. As long as this issue is not addressed, I fear it might become difficult to continue these hunts.”
The matter that concerned Allen was something that would grow larger along with the expanding scale of the hunts. He very much wanted to make the powers that be understand the problem right here and now, especially because it would affect his own family.
The feudal lord nodded. “Speak.”
“Yes, my lord. At this rate, the hunters will eventually lose interest in joining the hunts, and the size of the hunting party will begin to shrink.”
“How do you figure?”
“And my proposed solution for this problem is wine.”
“Wine...?”
Both the feudal lord and knight captain looked baffled. Allen continued, explaining that if nothing was done, the value of boar meat would plummet in Krena Village. Previously, only ten great boars were hunted each year. If this was to suddenly become twenty boars, or even more, the local market would become saturated with meat. With excessive supply, demand—and therefore value—would decrease. Consequently, hunters would need more meat than before to trade for the same amount of firewood, salt, and other necessities.
The knight captain nodded in understanding. “I see. So the wine is to raise morale.”
“Of course, that is one aspect of it. At the same time, the possibility of bartering meat for wine stabilizes its value.”
Wine was a consumable—it would disappear when drunk. Therefore, if it could be obtained with meat, it would functionally help to drain the supply of meat from the market. It would not make sense for the wine merchants to use the meat here in this market overflowing with meat, so they would likely trade it in other places that still had a strong demand for it, such as surrounding villages or the capital of the fiefdom.
“So the system would help stabilize the value of meat and serve as a motivator for the hunters,” the knight captain murmured, looking very impressed.
“Yes, sir. It doesn’t have to be wine, of course. Anything else that is a consumable—fruit being another example—would do.”
Part of what prompted Allen to bring this up was to prevent the value of albaheron meat from plummeting as well, as he planned on continuing to hunt them in large numbers should the feudal lord end up not giving his family commoner status. He was aiming for multiple birds with one stone, to borrow the saying.
“This is a very well-thought-out proposition. I cannot give you a definitive answer right now, but know that I will bring it back for consideration.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
“And this was Rodin’s idea, yes?” Lord Granvelle asked, beating Allen to the line.
The boy nodded. “Yes, my lord. My father Rodin devised the whole thing.”
The feudal lord then closed his eyes as if retreating into his thoughts. Silence fell over the top of the viewing platform.
After a short while, the knight captain asked, “What should we do, my lord? Should we return to the village?”
“We might as well. Allen, you have done a fine job today. Zenof, when we return, tell Deboji to summon both Rodin and Gerda.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Oh? Is he going to reward them? Please give them commoner status!
With that, the great boar hunt under the feudal lord’s observation ended as a resounding success.
Chapter 13: Setting Off
The twenty knights who accompanied the feudal lord helped the hunters carry the three great boars back to the village. The rest of the villagers buzzed in excitement, murmurs of “They killed three again today” spreading like wildfire. Everyone surged out to take part in the butchering. Even though the hunting party returned before 3 p.m., it was still likely to last until after sunset.
In the meantime, Rodin, Gerda, and Allen all found themselves summoned to the village chief’s house.
Rodin and Gerda were feeling greatly relieved from having successfully demonstrated to the feudal lord what their hunting party was capable of. Now there was no need to worry about the current villagers losing portions of their land to newcomers transplanted from other settlements. Rodin was not worried about himself—he had made significant contributions and commanded enough influence that he knew his land would not be repossessed. Instead, he had been worried for the families who could not afford to send any of their members to participate in the hunts.
When the group of three walked into the village chief’s house, they were told that the feudal lord was already waiting for them in the hall. They were allowed to pass straight through without even stopping to clean up, despite wearing hemp outfits stained with sweat and great boar blood. They complied and made their way over, finding Deboji waiting before the door. Together, the group of four walked into the room.
The tables had been cleared away and the feudal lord was sitting in a seat at the far end. The seat next to his was occupied by his daughter, Cecil. The butler, knight captain, and knight vice-captain stood lined up against the wall to their side.
After proceeding to the center of the room, the four stopped in a row, then kneeled with their heads bowed. Only then did the feudal lord open his mouth.
“First, Deboji. You have done well in overseeing this village’s development. Fifteen years have passed since the Land Reclamation Decree was issued. Many other fiefdoms have failed in their efforts to establish frontier villages, but Krena Village is an example of success unmatched by any other. Your stewardship is truly commendable, and you have my heartfelt thanks.” The feudal lord was repeating what he had said at last night’s feast. This village had turned out this way because Deboji had been at its helm. This was why the feudal lord started by praising him.
“Th-Thank you for your words of praise, milord.” Deboji lowered his head even further to express his gratitude.
“Next. Rodin, Gerda.”
“Yes, m’lord.”
“Yes, m’lord.”
“I have witnessed your great boar hunt with my own eyes. It was a remarkable sight indeed, one beyond description. To you, too, I give you my thanks as your lord.”
Although Lord Granvelle’s eyes were as sharp as ever, his voice was warm and genuine. Rodin and Gerda also lowered their heads deeply in response to the recognition they received.
“If I do nothing to reward such exemplary achievements, it would reflect badly on me as lord of this realm. Why, I would be shirking my duties.”
Here we go! It’s time for the quest rewards! Don’t give us money, we don’t need it! Make us commoners instead! Pretty please with a cherry on top! Allen focused all his attention to his ears even as his head remained bowed.
“Rodin and Gerda, you, as well as your wives and children, are commoners as of today. Fulfill your respective duties in your new capacity.”
Both men bowed once more and said in unison, “Thank you, m’lord.”
HELL YEAHHHH! I’m now a commoner! What should I do?! I have the right to go hunting outside the village whenever I want now! How ’bout I start with taking down the white dragon in the White Dragon Mountains?!
It took Allen all of his willpower not to start drooling. The dream he had been nursing for eight long years was finally about to come true. The corners of his mouth naturally curled upward in a grin.
After that, the feudal lord also granted commoner status to all the hunters who had been in the hunting party for over ten years, as well as their wives and children. He also promised that when the currently single hunters married, the same would be conferred on their spouses. In this way, everyone who had been hunting the great boars for over a decade finally received the recognition and reward due to them.
The feudal lord said to the village chief, “Make sure to check with each and every one of these men whether they wish to become a commoner or to remain a serf. Being a commoner comes with its own obligations, so this is voluntary. Report back to me afterward.”
Unlike serfs, commoners were subject to a head tax. The larger a family was, the more they would have to pay in taxes every year. As such, the feudal lord was giving everyone who qualified a choice.
“And with that, I have now fulfilled my duties as lord of this domain.”
Ensuring that his people could fulfill the royal decree of hunting twenty great boars was his duty. Now that he had done so, he could return home with peace of mind.
However, just as it seemed like the audience was wrapping up, the butler interjected, “Master, permission to speak?”
“Granted.”
“His Majesty also wished to know what prompted these men to start hunting great boars in the first place.”
“Hm? Oh, right! So he did. Thank you for the reminder, Sebas.”
What’s this now?
As the butler slightly nodded with his eyes closed, a look of puzzlement came over Rodin’s face. The feudal lord turned back to him.
“Apologies. This is not an official royal decree, but there is something that His Majesty wanted me to ask you on his behalf. Rodin—no, Boar Hunter Rodin.”
“Y-Yes, m’lord?”
“His Majesty was curious about what originally gave you the idea to hunt great boars.”
The Land Reclamation Decree had gone out to all fiefdoms in the kingdom. Amongst all the frontier villages nobles had struggled to establish, not only did Krena Village take hold, it had managed to produce a consistent supply of boar meat. Consequently, the king held it up as an example that the other nobles were to emulate. For the sake of the other nobles’ reference, he wanted to hear the full story of how the hunts started.
“The story...of how we started...” Rodin’s face clouded over. Silence filled the room as he visibly struggled to get his words out.
“Hm? What’s the matter?” the feudal lord asked, confused by Rodin holding his tongue on what was supposedly a tale of his own exploits, something that most men would leap at the opportunity to recount.
Just as he was about to press Rodin for a reason, Gerda interrupted. “I am very sorry, m’lord, but this story would be difficult for Rodin to tell. May I do so in his place?”
Speaking of which, I’ve never heard it myself either.
Rodin’s face darkened even more, but he did not speak up to stop Gerda. When the feudal lord nodded to indicate his permission, Gerda began.
“When we first arrived in this land, it was the start of spring. There were a hundred of us serfs. This was, uh...thirteen years ago.”
Founding a village meant creating it from nothing. This was, naturally, extremely time-consuming. It would be difficult to make any progress in winter with snow covering everything, so it made sense to start right after the snow from the previous winter had finished melting away.
The feudal lord had decided on the location where to found the village and conveyed this through an envoy. At the time, it was an area sparsely covered with trees all around, roughly a two days’ walk from the previous village. The settlers had to start with chopping those trees down and pulling their roots up when they first arrived.
Rodin’s eyes were closed tightly and his clenched fists were trembling as Gerda continued, speaking clumsily in his best effort at being respectful.
“By the time we finished clearing away all the trees, it was autumn. And then...”
Then disaster had struck. There was no way the serfs, who had never left their old village before, could have foreseen it. Nor could the commoners who relocated with them, for that matter. Their original village was two days’ away, after all, which was quite the distance.
“The wheat and potatoes that we had brought along to survive the winter got ransacked by great boars.”
Whenever autumn arrived, the forest surrounding the new village would receive a sudden influx of great boars. None of the founding villagers had known of this beforehand, and so they ended up learning the hard way. They had set up a fence to keep monsters away, but it was far from enough to stop beasts that weigh a tonne each. Gerda described how half of the food in their stores was eaten or destroyed.
The feudal lord’s brows drew together in a frown as what he had expected to be a heroic saga took a dark turn.
“So we got together to discuss what to do. Some folks wanted to return to our old village.”
They could have brought all their remaining food and walked the two-day journey back to their previous village. Then, once spring returned, they could have come back and resumed the reclamation work.
“However, many of us serfs had come to settle this village because we had no way of feeding ourselves back home. Even if we were to have gone back, no one would’ve welcomed us.”
The residents of the former village had scraped together enough food to tide the pioneers through winter with the understanding that they would never come back. If they did return, not only would they not have been welcome, they probably would not have received any food or provisions either.
“As it turned out, the large majority of us could not return.”
“I see.” The feudal lord shot a look at Deboji, who bowed his head, looking decidedly uncomfortable. The village chief was aware this had happened, but never reported it up the chain of command.
“That was when Rodin said, ‘Let’s kill the boars and eat them to survive the winter.’”
His actions had fit the term “champion” to a tee, according to Gerda. He had unified the men and led them into the forest with hoes, spades, pickaxes, and everything else imaginable in hand. It was not just the twenty men who had made up the hunting party up until recently—no, at that time there were more than forty of them. That was, in fact, virtually every one of the village’s menfolk.
There had not been any strategy back then—the three-team method was not developed until later. Luckily, the group had happened upon a solitary great boar by chance. They had hacked at it in sheer desperation until, out of sheer luck, someone’s pickax pierced the beast’s jugular. If it had not been for an almost miraculous chain of coincidences, the group could have just as easily been wiped out completely.
“And that was how you hunted the very first great boar?” Lord Granvelle asked. “That is a remarkable story. Why then do you not boast of it, Rodin? Judging by your boy’s face, it is clear to me that this is his first time hearing it.”
“I...I am sorry, m’lord. It’s just...I lost my friend during that hunt...” Rodin stammered.
It had been a dangerous hunt, one that was frantic. Many had ended up severely injured; several others died. Even so, the remaining hunters desperately had continued the hunt. When the beast died, there was a chance for everyone who had participated to overcome a Trial of the Gods. The reward for doing so was a new lease on life in the form of healing from all current injuries.
“And sure enough, all of us overcame a Trial of the Gods, and our wounds disappeared,” Rodin struggled to explain. “However, a close friend of mine...did not manage to hold on long enough.”
His friend had died before the final blow landed.
“Even though the hunt was something that all of us decided together, Rodin still feels responsible for what happened. I’ve been telling him all this time that it’s not his burden to bear, but he won’t listen,” Gerda said before continuing his account.
When the group of hunters had returned to the village, they then shared the meat with everyone equally, making no distinction between hunters and non-hunters. Thanks to this, the village had managed to survive its first winter. But, after seeing the number of casualties and the severity of people’s injuries, fewer men chose to participate in hunts after that, decreasing the size of their party to only half their original number—down to just twenty or so.
“And that’s the full story of our first great boar hunt.”
I see, so father saw his friend in that commoner.
While listening to their account, Allen thought back to the incident two years ago, when Rodin had returned home bearing a life-threatening injury. He had thrown himself in harm’s way to protect a teenage commoner. He—as well as his late friend—had also been but fifteen years old during their first hunt. Perhaps that was why, despite having a family at home waiting for him, he still ended up prioritizing the boy’s life over his own. Or maybe his body moved instinctively.
Rodin remained quiet, his head bowed. He was propping himself up with his hands, but his arms trembled as he struggled with the flood of memories playing in his mind.
“I...apologize for prying.”
“No, it’s...it’s fine, m’lord.”
Silence filled the room.
“That...is truly not a tale to spread around,” Lord Granvelle said after some thought. “I will work out what to tell His Majesty. And... Hmm...”
Once again, he fell into silence. This time, it was the butler who spoke up. “What is it you are thinking, Master?”
“Sebas, this changes things. My eyes tell me that this man, Rodin, is not lying. And if that is the case, it means he is the one who saved this village.”
“Yes, Master. That would be the case.”
The feudal lord turned back toward those kneeling before him. “Rodin, I shall grant you one more reward.”
“One...more reward, m’lord?”
The feudal lord had already granted Rodin and his entire family commoner status, something that would have normally cost them fifty gold coins. Mention of another reward on top of it left Rodin flustered.
“As I said, it is my job as lord of this fiefdom to ensure that those who contribute are rewarded accordingly. Name anything you desire.”
“A-Anything, m’lord?”
“So, there is something you want. Try saying it out loud.”
A reward? For father? I wonder what he would ask for. The only thing that comes to mind is wine, though.
“I-In that case, I have a request, m’lord,” Rodin said, lowering his head. “Please let my son here work in your house.”
Wait, what?
“Hmm?”
“Unlike me, Allen is smart. I am sure he would be of great help to you, m’lord.”
“Interesting. You want to send your son to enter the service of a baron?”
Hold on, father! That’s not it! Don’t go there! I really, reeeally don’t like where this is going!
Panic was painted all over Allen’s face, but Rodin failed to notice it. “Yes, m’lord. Please use him as a houseboy or however else you see fit. I beg of you, please allow him to work for you!”
Seeing the look his master was sending his way, the butler replied, “I have no objections. It seems clear to me that the child is indeed bright and intelligent.”
Standing beside him, the knight captain also nodded approvingly.
What?! Why isn’t anyone stopping this?! My ideal dream of going hunting every day is getting further and further away from me! Think, Allen! Think!
More than anything else, Allen loved hunting, and he loved leveling up. Working at the feudal lord’s place was on the extreme opposite end of the spectrum of things he wanted to do. Presumably, serving the feudal lord would mean lots of rules and restrictions. Worst case, he could end up with less freedom than even serfs had. And so Allen racked his brains as hard as he could. He needed to come up with some way to break through this situation at any cost.
“A houseboy? Hm...that’s not quite right,” the feudal lord murmured, stroking his well-groomed mustache.
A disappointed “Huh?” escaped Rodin’s lips. He had almost been sure that his request would be accepted.
Oh? Is the lord going to say no? Go for it. You really should say no!
“He did a splendid job as our guide on today’s hunt, as well as serving our table last night. I am as impressed with him as I am with you, Rodin. You have raised a fine son.”
“Th-Thank you, m’lord.”
“Consequently, Allen will become a manservant of House Granvelle.”
“A manservant?! Are you sure, m’lord?!” Rodin was so shocked his voice broke.
Uh, is a houseboy different from a manservant? No, no, that’s not what I should be thinking about right now!
“Is that fine, Sebas?”
“Absolutely, Master.”
“Allen! The feudal lord said he’d accept you as his manservant!”
Rodin completely forgot that he was in Lord Granvelle’s presence and turned to ruffle Allen’s hair vigorously in celebration. He was so overjoyed, tears were flowing down his face.
Gerda also chimed in. “Good for you, Allen! His Lordship’s offering you an opportunity that us serfs’d never see in a million years!” He then continued going on at length about how incredible the offer was; meanwhile, Allen looked dazed, as if his soul had left his body.
The feudal lord remained silent, merely observing. He had just made Rodin—who had contributed so much to the village—recall a memory so traumatic it gave him the shakes. This was therefore his way of atoning for that transgression.
The baron smiled with satisfaction at the ear-to-ear grin on Rodin’s face, then declared, “Allen, son of Rodin. Be my manservant and join my House Granvelle at the foot of the table.”
“Huh?” Allen looked so confused, a cartoonish question mark was practically visible above his head.
If I say yes here...would I be completely swearing away my chance at a life of freedom?!
“Hm? What’s the matter?” Now it was the feudal lord’s turn to look confused, as he had expected an immediate affirmative answer.
Rodin, who apparently thought Allen did not know how to reply, said, “Allen, this is where you should say, ‘It would be an honor, m’lord.’”
No, hold on, seriously, what am I supposed to do here?!
Allen looked at Rodin, whose tears were still overflowing from his eyes and coursing down his cheeks; he was just that happy. Allen realized this was the first time he had ever seen his father cry. This was his father, the man who had dedicated himself to raising Allen over the past eight years. Allen had indeed lived thirty-five years as Kenichi before coming to this world, but he deeply respected Rodin and his way of life from the bottom of his heart. He was glad that he had been born as Rodin’s child.
For his family’s sake, the man had tilled the fields, day in and day out without vacations, and had put his life on the line to face the great boars every autumn. Rodin also cared deeply for his companions and was a role model to the other serfs.
That same Rodin now had tears streaming down his face.
There’s no way I can say no to that face, is there? It’s outright impossible.
“It...It would be an honor, my lord.”
And in this way, Allen became a manservant of House Granvelle.
＊ ＊ ＊
It was already dusk by the time the audience with Lord Granvelle ended. Allen was informed that he would be accompanying the baron when he returned to Granvelle City tomorrow afternoon, and that he would not have any serving duties that night. He returned home with his father, where Rodin told Theresia about how Allen had become their feudal lord’s manservant. Theresia congratulated her son, her expression sorrowful.
The night passed, and morning broke. Allen, who had not slept very well, offered to draw water for the family, then headed out. When he met the serfs at the well, their eyes were warm. These were all faces that he had seen many, many times over the past eight years.
Over a single night, news of the feudal lord granting commoner status to all twenty members of the original hunting party and their families had spread throughout the entire village. Quite a few of the hunters had already decided to accept the offer.
“Hey there, Allen! I heard you’ll be working at a noble’s house! Good for you!”
“Thank you very much.”
The serfs at the well all wished Allen the best, and he thanked them one by one. When he got home and finished refilling the family jar, he found Mash still sulking from the night before. He complained that he’d be lonely with Allen gone. For his part, Allen had also wanted to be there for Mash, especially when he would undergo his Appraisal Ceremony next year.
Allen ate his breakfast and cleaned himself up, then tied his well-used wooden sword to his waist.
“Here, take this with you,” Rodin said, thrusting a small jute bag at his son.
“I already said last night, I don’t need it,” Allen returned.
Inside the bag they were pushing back and forth was the more than three hundred silver Allen had earned hunting albaherons. Allen expected to receive a salary while working at Lord Granvelle’s mansion, so he wanted Rodin to keep the money for an emergency.
“Doesn’t matter! Take it!” Rodin insisted gruffly.
In the end, Allen folded. He reluctantly counted out a hundred silver and stashed it in his luggage. “Luggage” might have been an overstatement, as he had few belongings to bring with him. In fact, everything he owned fit inside a single small jute bag. It had taken almost no time at all for him to pack.
“Ah, we managed to catch you!”
Just as Allen was about to leave, Gerda arrived, with Mathilda, Krena, and Lily in tow. Allen had planned on dropping by their house on his way to the residential area, but they had come to see him off instead.
Krena, having heard about Allen’s departure from her father, looked absolutely heartbroken. “Do you really have to go?”
Allen nodded. “Mm-hm. You take care of yourself, okay?”
The girl looked down at the ground, at a loss for words. Allen noticed she was clutching her wooden sword as usual.
“All right, let’s play knight,” Allen offered.
“Huh? Play knight?”
“Yup. You up for a round?”
“Always!”
Good, I got her on board. I want her to see me off with a smile.
The moment Allen mentioned “playing knight,” Krena perked back up. However, they could not play in the garden, as it was currently packed with twenty albaheron carcasses. So they stepped outside the garden wall, their families watching on.
Krena took up position a distance away from Allen, then declared, “I am Krena the knight! Let us fight with honor!”
A hot sensation welled up in Allen’s chest upon hearing this line—the same line that he had heard so many times over the past five years. He tightened his grip on his weapon and replied, “I am Allen, manservant of House Granvelle. Sword Lord Krena, come at me!”
A look of surprise came over Krena’s face. Allen’s line was different from usual. This time he had called her “Sword Lord.”
Allen’s new identity was the fruit of Rodin’s efforts after risking his life hunting great boars for thirteen years. Allen had purposely taken up this new title out of respect for his father.
“What’s the matter? Are you not coming at me?”
“Here I go!”
So began their final session of playing knight. Both eight-year-olds swung their wooden swords with incredible power and speed far beyond what other children their age could achieve. Allen’s and Krena’s parents had watched this scene countless times before.
“One final bout to say goodbye, huh,” Rodin murmured.
“Sounds just like something they’d do,” Gerda responded, chuckling slightly.
However, the spectators quickly noticed something was off. All these years, Krena had always been on the offensive and Allen on the defensive. Krena overpowered Allen in every one of their sessions. Today, however, Allen was the one with the upper hand.
“Huh?!” Krena had noticed as well.
“What’s wrong, Sword Lord Krena?! Is that all you’ve got?!”
Krena answered his provocation with a heavier swing, but Allen dodged it and returned a counterattack. Krena was the one on the ropes now.
As soon as he knew he would have to leave everyone, Allen had decided that his farewell to Krena would be playing knights. He had also made up his mind to win this last match.
“What?! How?!” Krena was completely bewildered. She had never lost, not even once. Now, however, she found herself overwhelmed. Allen’s movements had changed from those she had grown used to seeing over the past five years. He was faster than he had ever been before. Even the four adults’ eyes were wide with surprise.
To make a long story short, Allen had Synthesized a whole bunch of Bird E cards ahead of their match. Thanks to this, he had given his Agility a massive boost.
Name: Allen
Age: 8
Class: Summoner
Level: 7
HP: 152 (190)
MP: 208 (260) + 200
Attack: 75 (94)
Endurance: 75 (94)
Agility: 144 (181) + 200
Intelligence: 216 (270) + 200
Luck: 144 (181) + 200
Skills: Summoning {4}, Creation {4}, Synthesis {4}, Strengthening {4}, Expansion {3}, Storage, Deletion, Sword Mastery {3}, Throwing {3}
XP: 0/7,000
Skill Levels
Summoning: 4
Creation: 4
Synthesis: 4
Strengthening: 4
Skill Experience
Creation: 47,946/1,000,000
Synthesis: 47,900/1,000,000
Strengthening: 47,640/1,000,000
Creatable Summons
Insect: E, F, G, H
Beast: E, F, G, H
Bird: E, F, G
Grass: E, F
Stone: E
Holder
Insect:
Beast:
Bird: E x 20
Grass: E x 20
Stone:
As a Summoner, Allen’s Agility was ranked A. In other words, his class was itself designed with an emphasis on Agility. Now that he was Lvl. 7 and had twenty Bird E cards, his total Agility was over three hundred. There was no way for Krena, who was still only Lvl. 1, to keep up. It was not long before the tip of Allen’s wooden sword was at Krena’s throat. The match was decided.
“I lost,” Krena mumbled, looking stunned.
“Looks like it is a draw between us, Sword Lord Krena,” Allen declared. I’m glad that worked out. I used up almost all the magic stones I had, but it was worth it.
“Huh?”
The way Krena saw it, she had lost completely. All four of the adults thought the same.
“This is a draw. There’s no doubt about it,” Allen repeated.
“A...draw?”
“That’s right. A draw, a tie. Sword Lord Krena, it looks like we will have to wait until we meet again to determine the winner.”
“Huh?”
“Our match remains unfinished. The outcome will have to be deferred.” Allen reverted to his normal tone. “When we meet again. Okay, Krena?”
When they were both older, they would see each other again. It was a promise.
A smile blossomed on Krena’s face. “Of course! Next time we meet, I’ll be waaay stronger than you!”
There’s the face I wanted to see.
*
Allen, however, was more worldly-wise. He knew that once Krena turned twelve, she would leave for Academy City. After she graduated, she would then likely go on to serve the royal family. Their stations in life and social statuses would be vastly different. He might never see her again—in fact, that was the more probable outcome. Still, he wanted to part ways with her through this undecided match. He had even used up almost his entire stock of magic stones to ensure this result.
After having said his goodbyes with Krena, Allen turned to do the same with everyone else. Theresia hugged him tight and told him, “Be well, my son.” Allen fought back his tears.
He then went over to Mash, who was bawling his eyes out. “Mash, grow up strong and protect Myulla, okay?”
“Mm!”
Allen hugged his family tightly but did not cry. He had to uphold his pride as a big brother in front of his young siblings.
Allen then set off for the village gate with Rodin. The two did not speak along the way, but that was all right. When they reached the village square, they found two familiar faces waiting for them. The first was Dogora, the boy with a bumpkin face, and the other was Pelomas. They both approached Allen.
Dogora thrust a long object forward. “Hey, Allen. Take this.” He had quit calling Allen “Black Hair” a while ago.
“You sure I can have this?” Allen asked, accepting what he recognized to be a short sword.
This is the same one that I asked for the price of two years ago. It cost fifty silvers, if I remember right. I guess I never did get around to buying it.
Allen had really wanted this sword back when he spotted it in the weapons merchant’s shop. However, he had stopped himself, deciding to save the money for his family’s sake instead. The weapons merchant had told his son, Dogora, who had then accosted Allen as he was on his way back home. Apparently Dogora had still remembered from back then.
“Thank you, Dogora. I’ll take good care of it.”
“Well, that’s yours now. See ya!” Dogora said gruffly before dashing off as if to hide his embarrassment. Although he and Allen had only known each other for two years, there was no doubting their friendship. Allen slid the short sword into his belt, right next to his wooden sword.
Next, Pelomas and the other villagers also said their parting words. Apparently everyone in the residential area had heard about Allen leaving to serve the feudal lord. All their well-wishes filled Allen’s heart.
Rodin and Allen resumed walking. When the village gate came into view, Rodin, who had been silent this whole time, simply said, “Allen, this village is your home.”
“Yes, father.”
“I’m sure you’ll go on to do much greater things than simply being a manservant. Make sure you fulfill your obligations. Don’t worry about getting in contact with us until you do.”
In other words, Rodin was telling Allen not to worry about his family and to focus only on making the most out of this opportunity—after all, a former serf getting to serve a baron’s family right after becoming a commoner was unheard of.
“I’ll give it my all.”
After leaving those words behind, Allen parted ways with Rodin before the village gate. It was already time to set off, and so he boarded the carriage that someone pointed him toward. He looked out the window at the village where he had grown up. The familiar sight gradually receded as the carriage began its journey. Soon, Rodin’s figure was too small to make out. And eventually, the village itself faded from view. The tears Allen had been holding back burst forth, like water gushing from a broken dam.
In this way, Allen left behind Krena Village to start a new life in Granvelle City. After eight years as a serf, he had become a commoner and was accepted as a manservant in the service of Baron Granvelle, lord of the realm of Granvelle.
Side Story: Lakeside
Three days had passed since Baron Granvelle’s procession—the one Allen was a part of—left Krena Village for Granvelle City.
A wrinkled old man bowed reverentially toward Captain Zenof. “Thank you so much for taking care of it right away, sir.”
“Think nothing of it. Resolving the people’s worries is part of our duties as knights of the realm.”
Allen watched the exchange from a distance away. Aww, I guess I don’t get to meet my grandparents after all.
They had stopped at the village where the founding settlers of Krena Village had originally come from. In other words, this was Rodin and Theresia’s home village; their parents ought to still be living here. However, like all serfs, Allen’s grandparents would be greatly limited in where they could go, and there was no reason for them to be at the village chief’s house. Consequently, Allen had no chance to come across them.
Rodin had once told Allen that, because serfs almost never received permission to step outside their village, it was very common for those who moved to another village to never see their parents again.
I’ll come back again someday when I can travel more freely, Allen thought to himself as he looked around for his own carriage. Of the many coaches in the procession heading back to Granvelle City, he had been riding in one that had been assigned specifically to the servants.
“You, the manservant over there. Come over.”
Huh? Me?
Suddenly, a voice called out from above. When Allen looked up, he saw Cecil’s face peeking through the window of a carriage adorned with House Granvelle colors.
“What can I do for you, Lady Cecil?”
“I need a conversational partner. Climb into my carriage.”
Huh? I have nothing to talk with her about, though. Is she messing with me again?
“Of course, my lady. Right away.”
Allen had already taken up service, despite having yet to reach the mansion; he felt uncomfortable doing nothing while on the road. Cecil, in turn, had started involving herself with his duties, both for better and for worse. She seemed to feel no qualms about it given how close they were in age.
While he was not eager to do so, Allen had no choice but to comply with a direct order from the daughter of a noble. Although there was little difference between commoners and serfs, he very much felt the distance in social status between nobility and himself.
Hm? Oh, this is a women-only carriage. Everyone inside is female...except for Vice-Captain Leibrand.
As it turned out, this carriage was for Cecil and the female servants who had come along on this trip. Aside from them, however, there was also Vice-Captain Leibrand in the seat in front. In all likelihood, he was here to protect Cecil should anything happen.
When Cecil gestured toward the seat across from hers, Allen took it wordlessly, wondering what he had done to deserve this torture. Riding in these carriages was itself draining, as they shook and rattled terribly. Allen could have done without the mental pressure of his current situation adding to the physical ordeal, but all he could do was sigh inside his mind.
Before long, the carriages of the procession started moving out. A sizable crowd saw them off.
Wow, did the entire village show up? Or is this just a portion, and their population is just that much bigger than Krena Village’s?
“What do you think? Pretty big send-off, right?” Cecil asked suddenly, her eyes still directed outside the window at the receding crowd.
“As befits House Granvelle, the family who administers this land. This is surely a reflection of just how much the people appreciate everything you do for them.”
“I know, right? Heh heh!”
I complimented you, so can you give me a cushion please?
Cecil, who was currently sitting on top of a stack of multiple cushions, smirked happily. Allen’s praise of her family seemed to be exactly what she had been actually after.
“I thought this before at the great boar hunt, but you really are levelheaded, Allen. I can scarcely believe you were a serf before,” Leibrand interjected, looking impressed with the answer that Allen had given. “I think you will do well in your new station as a manservant at the mansion, regardless of your origins.”
“Your praise honors me, sir.”
“See? That answer’s plenty impressive too. How old are you now?”
“I turned eight this year.”
Cecil started. “Huh? That’s the same as me!”
“It appears so, my lady,” Allen replied. I thought we were close—so we’re the exact same age?
The fact did not really change much, but Cecil dove into her own thoughts, muttering, “So we’re the same age” to herself, among other things.
The carriages then continued down the path lined sparsely with trees for several hours. The procession stopped for breaks every once in a while—Allen was ignorant of carriage travel and had no way to tell if the breaks were for young Cecil or for the horses. At each stop, Allen tried to move to a different carriage, but Cecil kept him chained to his seat with random stories about her family.
Okay, look, I’m not going to make notes about your “Oh, this always happens at home!” anecdotes in my grimoire!
As Allen continued to pretend he was listening with the occasional “Mm-hm,” “I see,” and “Ahh” in response to the girl’s utterly mundane ramblings, Cecil noticed something outside the window.
“Hold on, this area is... I think we’re close to the lake my mother told me about.”
“Lady Cecil, we will not be stopping there,” Vice-Captain Leibrand said bluntly.
“I didn’t say anything yet! And why not?!”
Hm? What’s this? We’re coming up on a lake?
Cecil tried to make her case. She had really wanted to watch the great boar hunt too, but her father refused because it was dangerous. Since she had so magnanimously backed down and had been such a good girl, she argued, this time her wish ought to be granted.
According to Cecil’s mother, very beautiful yellow flowers bloomed beside this lake. Cecil wanted to bring one of those flowers home.
“I’m sorry, my lady, but we cannot stop here. There have been reports of orcs wandering in this area, and Captain Zenof is off vanquishing them as we speak. Our highest priority is keeping you safe, my lady.”
After a short pause, Cecil said, “All right. I understand.” Having seen that Leibrand had no intention of changing his mind, she gave up her protest.
Orcs, huh. I’ve never seen one of those before, but they’ve gotta be strong, right? If I remember correctly, they’re Rank C monsters.
The only monsters that Allen had seen so far were great boars, albaherons, and horned rabbits. I’ve barely left home and I’m already hearing of more monsters. This really is a fantasy world of swords and magic.
However, orcs were a famous monster. Rodin had even mentioned them to Allen before. They would attack human settlements at times, and it was not entirely unheard of for them to wipe out an entire village.
“Do they really have to be killed?” Allen asked.
Leibrand nodded. “They do. Orcs are dangerous in that, if left alone, they would build their own settlements. For all we know, there might already be an orc village somewhere nearby.”
Earlier on, the chief of the village they just stopped at had come to Lord Granvelle and Captain Zenof with eyewitness reports of wandering orcs from traveling merchants passing through. Lord Granvelle had taken the news seriously and asked for a more accurate description of the location where the orcs had been spotted. Then he had dispatched Zenof, together with half of the knights who had originally planned to join the great boar hunts, to kill those orcs.
Because of this, the Granvelle family was now hurrying home with the strength of their entourage cut in half. Naturally, a detour to some lake was out of the question.
Orcs... I’ve heard that there’s an Adventurer’s Guild in Granvelle City. When I’m allowed to move around freely inside town, I definitely want to go check it out. Might even learn a few things about other monsters there.
Allen made notes about what he just heard about orcs in his grimoire and added a new entry under his to-do list. He was so occupied with planning what to do in the future that he failed to notice the brooding scowl that had come over Cecil’s face.
＊ ＊ ＊
Half a day passed, and the procession had now stopped for the night. On nights when there were no villages nearby, the group would camp out in the open, bringing the carriages around to encircle the camping ground as a makeshift barrier.
The following morning broke with an incident. One of the female servants cried out without warning, her face pale, “Lady Cecil is missing!”
“What?! That can’t be! How did this happen?!” Lord Granvelle grabbed the woman and pressed her for details.
Apparently, when the servant had gone to call Cecil for breakfast, she had said she did not feel like breakfast and would wait in the carriage instead. The servant had left her to inform the baron, then had her own breakfast. When she returned to the carriage, however, Cecil was gone.
Allen stood up. “My lord, I believe chances are high that Lady Cecil has gone to the lake to pick some flowers. I strongly recommend going after her as soon as possible.”
“Tell me more.”
Since time was of the essence, Allen kept his explanation brief. He described how, during their carriage ride yesterday, Cecil had spoken of wanting to bring a flower home as a souvenir for her mother.
“Why did you not report this to me, Vice-Captain Leibrand?!”
“I-I am very sorry, my lord!”
“Forget it. Immediately set up a perimeter and search for her!”
The lake was directly west of the camp’s location. As such, the knights split into three groups: one that headed west to the lake, and two that went north and south in case Cecil, who presumably did not know the exact location of the lake, wandered off course.
Allen approached Lord Granvelle. “My lord, please allow me to also search for Lady Cecil. I cannot merely turn a blind eye, not after having been involved with her care during this trip.”
“Hm? Very well.”
All right, I got permission.
Normally, an eight-year-old child requesting to go out into the wild to search for someone would be shot down on the spot. However, desperate times called for desperate measures—there were wandering orcs around, and Cecil had gone missing. The feudal lord almost reflexively agreed to Allen’s request. Immediately after getting the go-ahead, Allen made a beeline for the lake.
I’m so glad I didn’t change my card distribution yet!
Before leaving his village, Allen had said farewell to Krena with one final play knight session. In preparation for that match, he had adopted a build focused on Agility. Thanks to this, he was now capable of running at almost superhuman speeds. Soon enough, the sparse trees in his surroundings gave way to a wide, open field.
Okay, there’s the lake. And those are probably the flowers Cecil was talking about. But she’s not over there. Where is she, then?
Even though he had a clear, unobstructed view of the area, Allen did not see Cecil’s figure anywhere. All he saw was an open meadow of yellow flowers in full bloom.
If only I could spot her footsteps... I did just run quite a bit. Did I overtake her, maybe?
Allen quickly concluded that it would be too difficult to find Cecil’s small footprints within such a large area, so he decided to take a different approach. After picking three flowers and throwing them into Storage, he turned back.
If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve spent more time analyzing Hawkins’s Ability beforehand.
There had been very limited opportunities for Allen to look into the Abilities of his Rank E and F Summons while he was living in Krena Village. Due to this, there was not much Allen felt he could do right now to contribute to the search. He knew that Bird E’s was “Hawk Eye,” and suspected it was meant for scouting purposes, but he had no idea how to actually use it.
He was now running back to the camp, taking a slightly different path just in case he actually had overtaken Cecil. He was just about to call forth a Bird E Summon anyway when he spotted a glimpse of cloth with a familiar design behind a large tree. It was the dress that Cecil had been wearing.
Found her!
Allen rushed over and found Cecil quivering violently. He reassured her, “It’s all—”
“N-No!”
Huh? “No” what? What’s goi— Wait, what’s this smell?
A foul odor assaulted Allen’s nose. He turned to see where it was coming from and noticed a humanoid figure sitting with its back against a tree a slight distance away.
Yep, that’s an orc all right.
The creature had a pig-like face and was wearing a poor attempt at clothing made from animal hide. There was a giant spear on the ground close to its hand. The orc seemed to be deep in sleep at the moment.
All the pieces fell together in Allen’s mind. Cecil had likely spotted the sleeping orc when she was on her way to the lake to pick a flower. She was so frightened that her knees gave way; she was now hiding and holding her breath, terrified of being discovered.
“Lady Cecil,” Allen murmured in a voice low enough only Cecil could hear.
“Wh-What?”
“Vice-Captain Leibrand and the knights will be along soon. Please get onto my back so I can bring you away from here.”
Fighting the orc myself is not an option. It’s a Rank C monster, and Cecil’s here.
The only monsters Allen had experience fighting and killing by himself were albaherons. This was an entirely new enemy, and fighting it using untested Summons was far too great a risk.
Allen crouched down, his back facing Cecil. She snaked her arms around his neck and grabbed on. He walked slowly and carefully, using the trees as shields before they finally got far enough away from the orc.
Cecil whispered into Allen’s ear, “Allen, I still want a flower. Mother said she really wanted to see one again.”
Allen picked up on the tremble in Cecil’s voice. Apparently she was quite serious about wanting a flower. He swallowed back the exasperated reply that was about to roll off his tongue, and instead wordlessly reached into Storage—at an angle out of Cecil’s sight, of course—to retrieve the three flowers that he had picked earlier.
“Lady Cecil, I already gathered three of them for you. Would these suffice?”
“What?! How did you...?! So these are the flowers mother wanted to see...”
Cecil slowly reached out for the three flowers and fell silent. Before long, the sound of hooves approached them. It turned out to be Vice-Captain Leibrand with several knights in tow.
Leibrand cried out, “Lady Cecil!”
“Lady Cecil is safe and sound,” Allen replied before pointing to the direction he had come from. “However, there is an orc a slight distance that way. It’s sleeping right now, but be careful.”
“Mm, understood.” Leibrand directed one of the knights to let Allen and Cecil onto his horse and to bring them back to the carriages. After that, he and the other knights went off to kill the orc.
The knights really are strong. I can’t even imagine how someone would go about fighting that monster. Even when sitting down, I could tell it was bigger than a normal human.
Before long, they were back in view of the carriages. The moment she dismounted the knight’s horse, Cecil dashed off to her father, the flowers clutched in her hand. Allen thought the baron could have been a bit stricter with his daughter, but the man simply looked relieved to see his daughter back safe and sound. He gave her his undivided attention as she excitedly started recounting everything that had happened.
Eventually, Leibrand and his subordinates returned. As they had originally gathered to hunt great boars, they naturally had no trouble taking care of a single orc.
The incident was finally over, and the procession resumed its journey toward Granvelle City. Cecil had ordered Allen to ride in her carriage for the remainder of the trip. She had grown even less reserved with him, talking at him nonstop until they reached the mansion. A small bud of worry blossomed in Allen’s heart as he thought about his fast approaching life as a manservant.
*
Afterword
Thank you so much for purchasing this book. This is the afterword. I was told that I can write about absolutely anything I want, so I’m thinking of sharing how I, Hamuo, decided to start uploading to the website Shosetsuka ni Naro.
I was an office worker three years ago who found himself with a ton of free time after getting home from work. Using that time, I consumed a very substantial number of manga on online platforms each month. I enjoyed a very wide variety of content, but this was around the time that the genres of reincarnation and otherworlds—colloquially referred to as “isekai series”—were really taking the digital publishing industry by storm. I got addicted to the genre and devoured every work using those themes that I could find.
In the middle of that phase of my life, I suddenly came across Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling, a work written by Necoco-sensei published by Earth Star Novel. I confess that I was drawn to the front cover and title and bought it thinking it was a manga. When I cracked it open and all the words inside leaped up at me, my first thought was, “Ack, I bought the wrong thing!” However, I did spend good money on it, mistake or no, so I decided to give it a read.
At the time, it had been a while since I’d read my last light novel. Specifically, it had been more than twenty years, if I remember correctly. And I was absolutely captivated from the very first page. It just completely blew me away. I remember losing myself and finishing the first volume in three hours, even though it was a pretty long book.
Then I bought and read the second volume, then the third. But then I came to a realization: There was no volume four.
Had it not been published? Did it get released with another publisher? Was it a physical-only release? I turned to the internet for information. And my search led me to Shosetsuka ni Naro. This was the first time I ever visited the site. And I read that fourth volume there.
After that, I could no longer return to waiting for e-book releases. Shosetsuka ni Naro was practically where I lived for the next year and a half. I spent hours and hours reading works on the site every single day. But eventually, I started struggling to find new series that suited my tastes.
I thought long and hard about what to do about it. The conclusion that I arrived at was to write my own series. Shosetsuka ni Naro was, at the end of the day, a place for amateur writers to publish whatever they wanted. I had read hundreds of works by that point. With the thoughts, “Maybe I can write one too?” and “Maybe I can make it too?” rattling around in my head, I finally started uploading my own work in spring 2019.
Since then, with much trial and error, I’ve uploaded two isekai series on Shosetsuka ni Naro. The second one was this book that you are now reading: Hell Mode. And this is the story of how I began writing light novels.
The only reason why I took part in the Earth Star Award contest was because it was hosted by Earth Star Novel, the publisher that led me to start writing on Shosetsuka ni Naro. This publisher means a lot to me.
I want to end this afterword by expressing my heartfelt thanks for everyone who was involved with making this book happen. Thank you, Earth Star Novel, for even going so far as to make TV commercials promoting my book. Many thanks also to my editor, I-sama, who graciously took me through the process of publishing my very first book; Mo-sama, the illustrator who designed the look of the characters in the story; and Tamura Mutsumi-sama, the voice actress who breathed life into Allen by giving him a voice. My thanks knows no bounds.
Of course, I am also extremely grateful to my understanding and supportive colleagues at work, as well as to my parents, who gave birth to and raised me. Thank you so, so much.
I do hope to continue writing more stories in the future. Please continue supporting me!