Chapter 1: Daily Life in the Granvelle Residence
It was now the end of October. Allen was currently in the garden of the residence belonging to Baron Granvelle, lord of this fiefdom. The place was beautifully maintained by the house gardener.
Allen thought back to the day he had first started as a manservant of House Granvelle. He had just arrived together with the baron after a five-day journey from Krena Village. Along the way, the procession had stopped at the village where Allen’s parents were originally from, but he did not get the chance to meet his grandparents. He planned on going back by himself someday.
Thirty or so servants had lined up to greet Baron Granvelle when he arrived home. Of these servants, the baron had instructed Allen to learn the ropes from Rickel, the head manservant. Rickel was a young man with freckles and brown hair who looked to be around eighteen years old. Apparently he was a rather lazy worker, as the butler had warned Allen to not pick up his work ethic.
Although Rickel often skipped work, he was good at caring for others. He would always answer any question asked of him; he would even answer the questions no one had asked. So when Allen had a spare moment, he asked Rickel the difference between a houseboy and a manservant. As it turned out, the two were very different.
There was an established hierarchy among the service staff. Allen wrote down the whole list in his grimoire, in order of superiority:
butler, housekeeper
gentleman-in-waiting, lady-in-waiting, head chef
coachman, cook, gardener
manservant, maidservant
The butler, housekeeper, head chef, and gentlemen- and ladies-in-waiting were all considered upper servants. They each commanded great authority and were to be obeyed. The butler and housekeeper oversaw the entirety of the male and female staff, respectively.
The coachmen, chefs, gardeners, and maid- and manservants were considered lower servants. Houseboys and housemaids were not even considered actual servants, and were, in so many words, just the help.
In addition to the hierarchy of the serving staff, Rickel also let Allen in on an important fact regarding noble families. As it turned out, the concept of “family” among the nobility of this world was at odds with Allen’s understanding of it from his prior life. That is to say, nobles here considered servants to be part of their family.
Allen finally understood why Rodin had been so happy that he had started crying when Baron Granvelle offered to hire Allen. That offer to become a manservant had, at the same time, been an offer to join the Granvelle family.
It was not easy to become a noble’s manservant, even for a commoner. In fact, it was difficult enough becoming a houseboy, and yet Allen had gone straight from serf to manservant. Baron Granvelle had truly gone above and beyond rewarding Rodin for saving Krena Village and contributing so greatly to its development.
Right, I’ve got to be thankful, Allen reminded himself as he thought back to what Rickel had told him.
“Allen, stand taller! You’re my manservant, aren’t you?! I still can’t reach!”
Directly in front of Allen’s face was a tree. Above his head dangled a large, ripe, red fruit. He was standing beneath a large tree in the garden on the grounds with Baron Granvelle’s daughter, Cecil, sitting on his shoulders, her legs astride his neck.
*
Earlier, when Cecil had shot Allen a glare with her slanted, willful, crimson eyes and ordered him to come to the garden, he had thought he would be in for a beating. Instead, she told him to let her ride on his shoulders because there was fruit on a tree and she wanted to pick it. With it being the end of autumn, the fruit looked extra ripe and enticing—although she had never eaten one before, she still wanted it. However, the fruit was so high up that even an adult would not have been able to reach it. Now, up on her perch, Cecil furiously mussed up Allen’s hair in vexation.
“Lady Cecil, you might fare better if you were to stand up on my shoulders,” he offered.
“That does make sense... You won’t get off easy if you drop me! I’ll definitely tell my father on you!”
God, I feel so tempted to let her fall for real.
Ever since she had found out that she and Allen were the same age, Cecil had started seeking him out for all sorts of tasks. According to Sebas the butler, Cecil had specially requested Allen as her personal manservant. When Sebas had told Allen, “Good luck,” his eyes were filled with sympathy. There was nothing for Allen to do but sigh.
Cecil carefully positioned her feet on Allen’s shoulders, then slowly stood up. Allen held her ankles tightly to help her maintain her balance.
“How is it, Lady Cecil?”
“I still can’t reach... I can’t reach it!”
Can you please just give up already?
“In that case, how about you stand on my hands and I lift you higher?”
“Hm... Okay. Lift me up slowly.”
As he slowly lifted Cecil up, Allen ended up seeing her drawers or pumpkin panties or whatever they were called. Of course, he felt nothing from seeing an eight-year-old’s underwear. He had, after all, lived for thirty-five years before even coming to this world.
“How is it, milady?”
He heard the sound of the fruit being plucked from its branch.
“I’ve got it! Lower me slowly.”
Allen obediently brought Cecil back down to the ground. She was holding the vivid red fruit in her hands, smiling proudly. She had probably been wanting to pluck it for quite some time now. A quick wipe with her sleeves, then one big bite! The texture was apparently similar to an apple, judging by the crunch.
As Allen watched on, thinking to himself, Looks like milady is a bit of a tomboy, the smile on Cecil’s face disappeared.
“Peh! Th-This tastes awful!”
As it turned out, the fruit was very sour. Cecil threw the fruit she had worked so hard to obtain onto the ground with a huff. Allen then noticed that the same fruit was scattered across the ground in great numbers, all rotting away to some degree. The gardener had not bothered to harvest them. Apparently, this fruit was not meant to be eaten.
“Well, there’s that saying about fruit you can’t reach being sour and all.”
“I don’t know any such saying! Don’t tell me you knew this wasn’t edible?!”
“Like h— No, I was not aware of it myself.”
Phew, that was close. I almost just blurted out “Like hell I did.”
“Hmph, then it’s fine. I now want to eat a popo to get this awful taste out of my mouth. Go to the kitchen and fetch me one. If they don’t have any, go to the market and buy one.”
Gah, she’s not going to let me off the hook with just “Sorry, they didn’t have one,” is she?
With no other choice, Allen headed straight to the kitchen. He had a bad feeling, and sure enough, the head chef told him they were out of popos. It was now confirmed: he would have to go all the way to town. He explained the situation to the butler, who then gave him a silver coin. Allen would not be forced to pay for it out of his own pocket.
Allen then left through the back door used exclusively by the servants of the mansion. Generally, the servants were not allowed to use the front door.
But honestly, going into town isn’t all that bad.
As a manservant, Allen’s job basically entailed miscellaneous tasks. He would be asked to do any number of duties that may or may not have direct relevance to the care of the baron’s family. Rickel told Allen to expect to be sent out for errands quite frequently.
The feudal lord’s mansion was tucked away in a corner of the city. Upon stepping outside the grounds, Allen found himself in the nobles’ residential area, where minor nobility—such as knights and baronets—and influential members of the city lived. The market was farther beyond; to reach it on foot, it took two hours one way.
Unlike the market in Krena Village, the one in the city had a large variety of fruit available.
“Give me one popo, please.”
“Sure thing. One silver.”
When Allen had asked how many popo he should buy, Sebas had replied that one was sufficient. They were not to needlessly waste money answering the young lady’s selfish whims.
Wow, one silver for a single fruit. So expensive. Still, surprisingly, the price here is the same as it was in Krena Village.
Allen turned around and headed back with nothing more than a single popo inside his basket.
There were so many different fruits at the market just now. I wonder if there’s an orchard near this city. Wait, but it’s going to get cold soon. Do trees bear fruit during winter in this world?
It had been eight years since Allen was reborn into this world. Every once in a while, he realized how much he was still bound to the common sense of his previous world. Now that he thought about it, he recalled seeing the same fruits offered all year round, regardless of season. It was now nearing November, but the available fruit lineup was the same as in the summer. The general store back in Krena Village had stocked popo and molmo even in December.
Just as Allen was imagining a nearby orchard that produced fruit even in the dead of winter, he heard a powerful rumbling, and his surroundings were suddenly cast into shadow. There must have been something flying overhead. Even without looking, Allen could tell that it was absolutely massive, whatever it was. He lifted his gaze skyward, half expecting to see a dragon.
“Huh?! But that’s...!” Allen inadvertently exclaimed out loud with surprise.
What he saw was a rugby ball-shaped ship several dozen—no, at least a hundred meters in length. It was a flying ship. It was slowly descending, most likely toward a landing terminal at the edge of town.
I see, so this world has airships. Oh! Does that mean the fruits in the market are imported from tropical countries further south?
The massive size of the vessel evoked an inexplicable twinge of excitement in Allen’s chest and also gave him a hint as to how expansive this world was. He was reminded of the time when he was one year old and his father, Rodin, had pointed out albaherons—the monsters Allen’s name was derived from—high up in the sky as they migrated north for winter.
Here in Granvelle City, a place many times larger than his birthplace, Allen’s life as a manservant had just begun.
＊ ＊ ＊
It’s morning.
Allen woke up to the distinctive scent of an old wooden building, one that reminded him of libraries and museums. He had yet to get used to this smell. No light shone through the slats of the wooden window in the small room. It was November, which meant the sun had not yet risen. Nevertheless, it was time to get out of bed. Allen checked his grimoire to confirm that his MP was full again, then proceeded to spend it all training as usual.
Right now, Allen was in his private quarters. To his surprise, he had been assigned his own bedroom. At least, that was the nicer way of putting it—in reality it was little more than a storage room in the attic of the mansion. It was only about four-and-a-half square meters, or fifty square feet, and it had a rather low ceiling. There was unused furniture and dinnerware stored there, so Allen could technically only use two-thirds of the room’s space. It was therefore too cramped for a real bed, so Allen slept on a mattress on the floor.
The only reason Allen had received this room in the first place was because all of the other male servants’ quarters were fully occupied. Those were all four-person rooms, so Allen was actually quite happy about his arrangement. Having his own private space made things much more convenient for him, especially for when he wanted to test his skills or even call out smaller Summons.
It’s still double the size of a booth in an internet café. It’s more than enough.
Back in his days as Kenichi, he had gamed in internet cafés, so he knew how tiring it was to spend the night in a cubicle too cramped to stretch out his legs. With that perspective in mind, he did not have a single complaint about his current accommodations.
Allen then changed into his work clothes. The threadbare hemp outfit he had once worn as a serf had been replaced by a mostly black, well-tailored suit. He had been instructed not to get it dirty as it was his servant’s uniform. Even the casual wear that he had been sleeping in before was of a much higher quality than what he had worn mere weeks ago. After getting dressed, he descended to the servants’ dining hall on the first floor.
There were already about ten people in the servants’ dining hall. Allen had just picked up a wooden tray when Rickel, who happened to be nearby, greeted him with a “Hey there, morning,” and invited him to sit together. Allen responded to the greeting and grabbed the seat across from him. Rickel was a rather caring person and asked Allen questions like “How are things?” and “Do you have any questions?” every day.
“How’s Lady Cecil treating you?” Rickel asked this morning, looking somewhat concerned.
It was almost unheard of for a manservant to be appointed personal attendant to a member of the lord’s family immediately upon entering service. Normally, a man- or maidservant would do all the miscellaneous tasks assigned to them and, if they did a good job, might eventually catch a family member’s eye. That member would then reach out and appoint them as a personal attendant. Rickel himself was serving as the head of the other manservants because his service had not been evaluated highly enough to become a personal servant.
The two struck up a lively conversation over their breakfast of soup filled with vegetables and a pitiful amount of meat. Honestly, Allen had more meat in his diet when he was living in Krena Village, especially this year and last year.
“Oh right, yesterday...”
Allen shared how he had seen a ship flying in the sky while he was out buying a popo for Cecil the day before.
“Ahh, was that your first time seeing a magic ship, then?”
“They’re called magic ships?”
Magic ships were vessels built from magic tools. They made round trips between Granvelle City and the kingdom’s capital three times each month. A one-way journey cost one gold, which was not extremely prohibitive, so Rickel suggested that Allen save up for a ride one day.
Speaking of magic tools, there were many in use in this mansion. There was a large grandfather clock on the first floor, as well as multiple sources of illumination scattered throughout the premises. Allen had heard from Pelomas long before that these were all powered with magic stones.
It looked like Rickel still had a lot more to share, but it was almost time for the lord’s family to wake up. So Allen bid him farewell and headed to Cecil’s room together with several maidservants.
As the maidservants helped Cecil get changed, Allen was made to wait outside. Her room was on the third floor, directly beneath Allen’s. Once she was dressed, his duties mostly consisted of keeping her bedroom clean and tidy and putting away her pajamas. In other words, it was all odd jobs.
Sebas had assigned Allen two primary duties: to attend to Cecil’s needs and to serve meals. The latter was a responsibility reserved only for those with exceptional looks. Rickel had never once been called upon for the role for that reason. Allen, however, had inherited quite a lot of his mother’s good looks, although he was not very aware of it. What’s more, his black hair and eyes were especially eye-catching, given their rarity in this world. These factors together led to his immediate selection for meal service duties.
Now Allen was regularly serving the baron’s family’s meals as a training experience. His primary duty was, at the end of the day, attending to Cecil. However, there were large blocks of time each day where she would be preoccupied with her lessons and tutors and thus would not call for him. All in all, Allen did not have very much to do.
He now understood how Rickel developed his penchant for slacking off. Although the mansion was quite spacious, there were roughly thirty servants on staff—there were bound to be idle moments. Some people, such as the butler, had an inordinately large number of duties, but generally speaking, there was a lot of downtime.
During the evenings, the baron’s family ate together in the dining hall on the second floor. Dinner was always a time-consuming affair, as it was served in courses, one dish at a time. However, it was not overly hectic for Allen, as other staff members brought the dishes up to just outside the hall, where Allen worked together with two other servers.
“You seem to have gotten rather used to your duties, have you not?” Baroness Granvelle asked Allen.
Back when Allen had been Kenichi, he had been a corporate worker for over a decade and, as such, had no experience in waiting or food service jobs. However, the media that he had consumed—including manga, TV shows, and movies—had depicted how to wait on tables in places such as high-end restaurants and hotels. He drew on those references as he went about serving the baron’s family.
“Thank you very much, my lady. I have all my mentors to thank for their wonderful guidance.”
Allen lowered his head graciously in gratitude. The baron’s wife widened her eyes in surprise as an impressed “My!” escaped her lips.
“Darling, are you sure this boy was born a serf?”
“Mm. He’s even Talentless, if you can believe it.”
Huh? He looked into my Talent? Well, I suppose it makes sense to do a background check before admitting a complete stranger into the family. Ah, that means they must know about all my stats being “E” too.
Cecil perked up. “Huh? You’re Talentless?”
“That is indeed the result I received from the Appraisal Ceremony, milady.”
Allen was careful not to say “I am Talentless” himself. If he were to be Appraised again, the Talent field would very likely be filled. This way he was laying all responsibility for being registered as Talentless on the clergyman who had officiated his Appraisal Ceremony.
“Really? Well, I’m a Wizardess.” Cecil smiled smugly and puffed out her chest.
“That is a wonderful Talent indeed, Lady Cecil. It is a very rare Talent to possess, is it not?”
Cecil clearly wanted to be complimented, so Allen laid it on thick, leaving her smiling cheerily from ear to ear. This attitude of his was a big part of why Cecil kept bugging him, but he had yet to realize it.
Hmm, a Wizardess. Which probably corresponds to Wizard. I don’t remember seeing that as a class option. I do remember Mage being a one-star class and Archwizard being a three-star, so I guess that puts Wizard in the middle as a two-star class? That’s still pretty high up, considering.
As Allen recalled what he had seen about this world’s classes before being sent here, Baron Granvelle scolded Cecil.
“Cecil! How many times must I tell you?! Do not mention your Talent without cause!”
“I-I’m sorry, father...”
At the same time, Baron Granvelle also scolded Thomas, his second son.
“And Thomas! Do not cry every time this topic comes up!”
Thomas, who was sitting next to Cecil, sobbed, “I-I-I-I’m so sorry, father...hic...for being your only child...without a Talent...”
“Having a Talent or not has no bearing on anything. How many times have I said I would be sending you to Nobles College in the royal capital?!”
“But I want to go to the Academy like Mihai did!”
“You may not. Listen, Nobles College is a fine place. I don’t have a Talent myself, so that was the school I attended. In fact, that’s where I met your mother, at one of their evening balls.”
“Oh, my!” Baroness Granvelle exclaimed, clapping both hands over her flushed cheeks.
Interesting. So Academy City will reject even nobles if they don’t have a Talent. Instead, Talentless nobles go to a school specifically for nobility. Well, it makes sense that they have a place to go. In this world, chances of a noble having a Talent aren’t very high.
The balancing for this world made it so that Talents appeared more easily among those born in lower social classes, such as commoner and serf. Even so, Thomas still looked very despondent about being the only one of three siblings to be Talentless.
Ugh, Cecil’s glaring daggers at me again. Come on, how is it my fault you got scolded?!
Allen avoided eye contact with Cecil and continued serving as if he had seen nothing.
＊ ＊ ＊
Today, Allen only had to work in the morning and had the rest of the day off.
“Are you heading out now?” Rickel asked as the two ate lunch together in the servants’ dining hall.
Allen, who was wearing casual clothes instead of his uniform, replied, “Yes, I’m thinking of checking out the city.”
“I see. In that case...”
Once again, Rickel, a true exemplar of a superior, briefed Allen on a variety of things. He explained that there was no strict curfew in this house, but anyone who returned too late would earn a summons from the butler. Generally, returning between 9 p.m. to midnight was fine. Allen was relieved to hear there was some leeway.
Two or three times a week, Rickel would go out into town to go drinking. He shared stories with Allen of how he would slip out around 3 p.m. only to get upbraided by Sebas afterward, as if these were feats that he was proud of.
Lastly, he instructed Allen to always keep House Granvelle’s crest on his person whenever going out. With that, Allen was allowed to go.
My goal for today: check out the Adventurer’s Guild.
So far, Allen had investigated pretty much every store that caught his interest along the way from the mansion to the marketplace. However, whereas the baron’s mansion and the nobles’ residential area were close to the north gate—this city had gates arranged in all four cardinal directions—the Adventurer’s Guild was close to the south gate. Being on the opposite side of the city made it too far away for a quick detour while running an errand.
The fact that it took Allen two hours to reach the marketplace, which was located in the center of the city, meant that it would take him four hours one way to reach the Adventurer’s Guild. Allen was worried about getting back too late, so he took off at a run.
There were things he really wanted to confirm for himself today. According to Rickel, the Adventurer’s Guild was a worldwide organization, and even the baron would post bounty quests for monsters there at times.
As Allen made his way, he passed someone wearing armor with a gigantic sword on his back. He was most likely an adventurer, one of those in this world who made a living hunting monsters for rewards. Allen had seen quite a few of them while on his shopping trips.
Oh! I’m seeing more and more adventurers around. There are so many people holding swords, staves, and everything in between.
As the south gate loomed up ahead, Allen eventually spotted a large building along the main avenue that adventurers were flowing in and out of. It was surrounded by inns and taverns, leaving little doubt that this was the Adventurer’s Guild. Allen stepped inside without hesitation.
Hm, the place looks pretty empty overall. It’s around 3 p.m. right now. I guess I missed rush hour. That’s a relief.
Quite a few gazes converged on Allen, some because of his hair color, some because he was a child who had come into the guild by himself. However, he walked on, paying them no mind.
So, can I become an adventurer?
Indeed, this was precisely what Allen had wanted to confirm today. He approached the pretty woman standing behind a counter who had been staring at him the whole time.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, how may I help you?”
“Can I become an adventurer?”
“Hmm... How old are you?”
“I’m eight.”
“You have to be twelve to register.”
“Aww...”
“Sorry.”
I see, so no go.
Allen had become a manservant as part of Baron Granvelle’s reward to Rodin for his contributions to the development of Krena Village. While he planned on keeping at the work for now, the position was too restrictive to dedicate the entire rest of his life to. He was considering becoming a full-time adventurer after serving the baron for a few years. When the time came, he could tell Rodin that he had tried it for a few years but found that it did not suit him. He had wanted to get a leg up on his next career now, but had just learned that he could not actually become an adventurer until he turned twelve.
He was not finished just yet, though. After all, the age requirement was not the only thing he wanted to confirm today.
“Changing topics, I want to know what kind of monsters live around Granvelle City. Do you have any reference materials that I can read?”
“I’m sorry, only adventurers are allowed to enter the reference room.”
Apparently the receptionist was not at liberty to tell Allen anything. He thanked her, then stepped away from the counter. However, he had come all this way, even going so far as to use up half of his day off. He could not just go back with nothing to show for his efforts, so he started to check out the rest of the Guild to glean whatever information he could.
Oh, these must be quest posters.
One wall was covered all over with sheets of parchment and torn-off stubs, most likely remnants of posters already torn off the wall.
Okay, so this wall is where adventurers get quests from.
The details on the posters were written in Japanese, so Allen was able to read them without issue. Each poster detailed the target monster’s name and rank, and the reward for killing it.
Horned Rabbit (Rank E): 1 copper
Goblin (Rank D): 5 copper
Big Toad (Rank D): 8 copper
Orc (Rank C): 3 silver
Armored Ant (Rank C): 3 silver
There was a bit of variety among the monsters mentioned, with all the targets lined up along the length of the board according to rank. Allen promptly wrote everything down in his grimoire.
Problem is, these don’t say where each kind of monster is found. Does that mean they appear everywhere?
“Hey, hey, hey, what’s a brat doing in a place like this? Kiddo, this ain’t a place for squirts like you!”
Just as Allen was getting absorbed in his thoughts, a voice broke his concentration. He turned around to find a man standing before him. He appeared to be in his early twenties and had countless scars across his arms and face. There was a sword on his waist.
“Ah, I’m already on my way out.”
Allen had caught on that he was not very welcome here and did not want to bother with getting messed with, so he decided to leave. However, as a shot in the dark, he decided to try asking the adventurer who had just addressed him the question that had just popped into his mind.
“Mister, why don’t these quest posters say where the monsters are located?”
“Huh? Well, that’s ’cause they’re all over the place,” the man answered with a somewhat annoyed expression. According to him, the higher-ranked monsters gathered at the foot of the White Dragon Mountains.
By that, he’s referring to the mountains on the other side of Krena Village, right? Or does the range extend that far, this close to this city?
Allen had yet to see a map of this world or even of this fiefdom. There was probably one in the mansion’s study, but servants were not allowed in that room.
The adventurer revealed that the ranks of monsters increased the further they were from Granvelle City. Allen made sure to properly write down everything he said.
Near Granvelle City: Rank E monsters
1 day’s walk: Rank E to D monsters
3 days’ walk: Rank D to C monsters
7 days’ walk: Rank C to B monsters
There was also a poster up for a murdergalsh with a high completion reward that no one seemed interested in picking up.
Murdergalsh (Rank B): 200 gold
Currently located: Ranba Village
Wow, the reward amount suddenly jumped way up.
“Is no one going to kill this murdergalsh?” Allen asked the adventurer, who was actually answering quite a few of his questions.
As it turned out, the murdergalsh was a monster that moved around frequently and arbitrarily; even if someone was to head for Ranba Village right now, they could very well find their target gone and their trip a complete waste of time and effort. Add this to the fact that the murdergalsh was on the stronger end of the Rank B spectrum, and little wonder no one seemed interested in hunting it. In most cases, murdergalsh quests remained up for so long that they were eventually left for the realm’s knights to take care of.
“Then why hasn’t anyone accepted this white dragon quest?”
White Dragon (Rank A): 1,000 gold
Currently located: White Dragon Mountains
The parchment at the far end of the board was completely discolored, as if it had been left untouched for decades. The promised reward of a thousand gold coins was such a staggering amount that all other quests paled in comparison.
“Kiddo, how many more questions ya got, huh?”
“It’s not like you’ve got anything to lose, right?”
Only after Allen promised this was the last thing he wanted to know did the adventurer sigh and relent. He explained that the white dragon living in the White Dragon Mountains was too strong for anyone to defeat. However, there were mithril ore veins in the mountains, so the realm really needed the monster gone. Because of this, the reward for the quest kept going up until it eventually reached a thousand gold.
In other words, the mithril veins are precious enough to be worth more than the quest completion reward. That aside, even though this guy’s really curt, he’s actually a pretty nice guy. Did he originally talk to me because he was worried I might get into trouble being alone here?
Just then, a voice called out to the man. “Raven, I’m done reporting to the guild!”
A girl who looked to be in her late teens approached. She was wearing an outfit that exposed her midriff and was armed with daggers. Following right behind her was a woman wearing a hooded robe and holding a staff. She appeared to be in her early twenties. They were both adventurers, and clearly companions of the man named Raven.
“Ready to go drink?” asked the first girl.
“Yep, let’s go,” Raven replied.
“So, what were y— Hm? Who’s this kid?”
“Ah, I’m sorry for being a bother. I was just asking Mr. Raven a few things about monsters. Mr. Raven, thank you very much.”
As he had asked pretty much everything he wanted to know, Allen courteously thanked the man and left the Adventurer’s Guild.
Hm, so all the monsters close to town are low-ranked. I’d have to go far away to encounter ones that give more XP.
This trip had turned out very fruitful. Based on what he’d just learned, Allen already knew what he had to do next.
＊ ＊ ＊
It was mid-November, and the days were so cold; the first snowfall of the year could arrive any day now. Allen woke up in his attic room once again. Because it had become common practice for him to wake up at 6 a.m. every day to do his daily skill training, oversleeping was never a concern for him.
In the dim light of his room, he accidentally bumped his hand against a planter. He had “borrowed” this from the storage shed in the yard on his third day here. Several servants had seen him along the way, but he knew that the best thing to do in such situations was to act confident. If anyone asked, “Why are you taking that?” he had prepared to answer with, “Lady Cecil told me to,” but no one had stopped him in the end. In this way, he had successfully brought two planters to his attic room.
One now had an Aroma tree growing inside, the product of a Grass F card’s Ability. This tree had the effect of speeding up Allen’s MP recovery. This was the specific description that Allen had written down in his grimoire:
Effect of Aroma
For 24 hrs after smelling its fragrance, MP recovers to full in 5 hrs
The only way to gain Skill XP was by expending MP, which recovered back to full naturally six hours after the last skill usage. However, thanks to the Aroma tree, that time was shortened by one hour. When his MP recovered, it did so all in one go, so fast that Allen could not see the numbers tick even if he kept his eyes glued to his grimoire.
The other pot was filled with dirt to create Leaves of Life with Grass E cards. Allen now had three Leaves of Life inside his grimoire’s Storage, but he had no immediate plans to use them. Based on their name, they likely helped recover HP, but there was no way to tell just how much. Allen had to wait to encounter someone hurt to test their efficacy.
The Leaves of Life were not the only things he was having trouble studying. During the past two years, Allen had been swamped with housework, farmwork, hunting, and playing knight. On top of that, Mash would also tag along behind him practically every moment Allen was at home. Due to this, there was still much that he did not know even about his Rank F Summons, let alone the newer Rank E ones.
Another reason I must succeed in today’s negotiation.
Today, Allen planned on asking Sebas for something. After waking up and converting his MP into Skill XP, he went downstairs and had breakfast as usual. Today’s fare was, of course, soup with meager ingredients and bread. This was the norm for servants.
After finishing his breakfast, Allen went up to the third floor to put away Cecil’s pajamas, empty her garbage bin, and generally tidy up her room. This one room alone was more spacious than his entire house had been when he was a serf.
The third floor was the living quarters of the four members of the baron’s family: the baron; his wife; Thomas, his second son; and Cecil, his third child and only daughter. His firstborn son, Mihai, was studying at the Academy at the moment, and therefore his room remained unoccupied.
On the second floor was the family’s dining hall, reception room, guest quarters, and the butler’s, housekeeper’s, and head chef’s rooms. On the first floor was the kitchen, the servants’ dining hall, servants’ quarters, and more guest rooms. There was a cellar underground used both as a pantry for foodstuffs and an armory for weapons and armor. There were quite a few servant rooms underground as well.
Cecil had a light breakfast of bread and soup followed by some tea. She loved spreading a thick layer of jam on her bread. In the afternoon, she had lessons five of the six days of the week. Education was important for nobility.
“You’re a new face,” said Cecil’s tutor of the day when he found Allen waiting for him in the lobby.
“Yes, sir,” Allen replied. “His Lordship took me in last month. My name is Allen.”
The tutor nodded, but did not say anything else. He silently followed Allen to the reception room on the second floor. Most of Cecil’s lessons took place in this room.
Today’s teacher is wearing a robe. Is he teaching Cecil magic?
Although Allen had an interest in magic, naturally he was not allowed to take part in the lessons. He opened the door to the room, announced the tutor’s arrival, then let him in.
Well, there’s no telling whether or not I’d be able to use magic even if I took classes, what with being a Summoner. But still, a magic teacher, huh? And right after I saw all those adventurers equipped with blades and staves the other day. Boy, this really is a fantasy world of swords and magic.
Once Cecil’s lessons began, Allen was left entirely to his own devices. It was finally time for the negotiation. He headed to Sebas’s room on the second floor.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
“Pardon me.”
Allen explained that he had something he wished to discuss, and the butler gestured toward a sofa, taking the one directly across for himself. The room was quite spacious, at least twice the size of that of any other servant’s, as befitted someone of Sebas’s stature.
“So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?”
“If possible, I want to take full days off.”
Allen did not beat around the bush. Currently, he was allowed half a day off on two out of six days per week. He wanted to combine those two half days together so that he could work five full days and take one full day off.
Sebas went “hmm” and seemed to give it thought. After remaining silent for a while, he said, “Allen.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How long has it been since you joined us?”
“I started around the end of October, so it has been around twenty days, sir.”
The reason behind Allen’s request was that he wanted the full day to go outside the city to raise his levels and explore the capabilities of his Summons. The Rank E Summons were around one to two meters long, which made them too large to Summon inside his small attic room. Still, he was a brand-new hire knocking on his superior’s door to talk about his off days almost immediately after starting work. This was the same as a new company employee suddenly demanding his salary.
“What if...I said no?”
“Then I’m ready to resign.”
“What?!”
Allen’s answer shocked even Sebas who, at almost sixty years of age, had been surprised by fewer and fewer things in recent years. It had been quite a while since he was so taken aback he let it show on his face. This was because Sebas understood just how much of a privilege working for a noble truly was.
During this brief period of time, Sebas had received multiple reports of Allen’s work performance. He greeted everyone courteously, learned his work quickly, and even helped with the laundry—a task that no one liked doing—when he had spare time. He had a lot of strength despite being a child, and was generous with it, helping make many other servants’ jobs easier. There were even some who doubted his origins as a serf due to his admirable attitude and actions.
Although it was still early, Baron Granvelle and Sebas had discussed raising Allen’s salary—which was currently half the amount those of his station normally received—little by little. But then today’s talk came out of the blue. Sebas found his evaluation of the boy being slightly shaken.
“The frontier village is a success.”
“I’m sorry, sir?” Allen looked confused at the sudden change in topic.
“And the Land Reclamation Decree is still in effect.”
The butler closed his eyes and slowly began talking. As long as the Decree was in effect, all nobles owning fiefdoms were obligated to continue establishing new villages and expanding viable farmland. This was true even of Baron Granvelle, who had already created one success story.
“Yes, sir,” Allen replied, indicating that he was listening carefully.
“It’s still a secret, but we are already in the middle of deciding where the next village should be founded.”
Where’s he going with this?
“Of course, the new village will need a village chief. This is also confidential for now, but one of those being considered for the role is Rodin.”
“Huh?”
As Sebas put it, Baron Granvelle was a man who valued merit over bloodline. As such, he currently held a very high evaluation of Rodin in light of his contributions to Krena Village. He had helped found Krena Village, stood up to provide leadership to the serfs, and was now highly respected by all the villagers. If he was entrusted with starting another village, many would surely follow him. Then, in all likelihood, that new village would host great boar hunts as well. The new village would need a Boar Hunter champion too. The kingdom was in dire need of boar meat, after all.
“And this is why, Allen, your work here holds real meaning.”
In so many words, Allen was now working for the lord who ruled the realm of Granvelle. No one could tell how far up he would eventually climb in the hierarchy among the servants, but everything he learned in his current position would prove useful if he were to succeed Rodin one day and become village chief himself. In other words, he should be satisfied with his current schedule of two half days off each week.
Allen’s answer, however, was silence. Even after hearing everything Sebas had said, he showed no intention of changing his mind. Back when he had been born in this world, Allen had already decided he would challenge this world with all he had. He had already decided how he would live. Namely, he would focus on leveling up and getting stronger. If he could not have his day off each week, he considered staying here at the mansion a waste of his time.
As the silence dragged on, it was Sebas who finally folded in the end. “So, this is that important to you. I’m not sure I get it, but very well. You may have your full day off.”
“Thank you, sir.”
In the first place, although taking two half days was the general rule, there were indeed a few servants who took one full day off instead due to family circumstances. It was simply because Allen had brought the matter up so soon that the butler felt he had to give at least a little bit of a pushback.
In this way, Allen managed to secure one rest day each week for his leveling up.
Chapter 2: Hunting around Granvelle City
Allen woke up right after 5 a.m., thirty minutes earlier than usual. He quickly put on his casual clothes and then ran out the back door of the mansion to the city gates, relying solely on the illumination from the streetlights.
“What’s the matter, lad? It’s not time to open this gate yet,” the guard told Allen.
“Mm, I know. I’ll wait.”
This gate was mainly used by members of Baron Granvelle’s household as well as those living in the nobles’ residential area. Allen had already learned from Rickel beforehand that it opened at the 6 a.m. bell. Back in Krena Village, the bell had only rung at 9 a.m., 12 noon, 3 p.m., and 6 p.m.; however, here in Granvelle City, 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. were also added to the schedule for a total of six rings every day. As expected of the big city—the mornings were early and the nights late.
While I wait, let’s do one final check.
Allen got out his grimoire and confirmed what he had put inside its Storage.
Short sword x 1
Wooden sword x 3
Stick of firewood x 30
Rope x 3
Jerky x 5
Waterskin x 2
Throwing stone x 10
Silver coin x 93
Copper coin x 2
Rank E magic stone x 3
During his previous day off, Allen had gone out to town and bought everything that he thought he would need traveling outside the city. He had also adjusted the distribution of the cards in the holders.
Insect G x 3
Insect E x 1
Beast E x 10
Bird E x 6
Grass E x 20
Before he had kept twenty Bird E cards, but he had swapped most of them out to adopt a build more suitable for hunting. Consequently, his stock of Rank E magic stones had decreased from more than ten to only three. It was pretty much all tapped out.
Allen had also been informed by Sebas that as a manservant, he was forbidden from carrying weapons on his person. This applied to the short sword that he had received from Dogora as a parting gift. Therefore, the weapon was now inside Storage alongside a few wooden swords.
Wait, I have firewood, the kind for warming rooms, but no flint to light it with. Oh well, I can always buy it while out on another errand. Cecil sent Allen to buy things for her quite often. He could easily drop by a general store along the way.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The large city bell pealed loudly, indicating that it was now six o’clock. The gate guard called out to Allen. “Hey lad, gate’s open. You got your pass with you?”
Allen retrieved a badge bearing the crest of House Granvelle’s servants from his trouser pocket. This gave him access to all of the city gates.
“M-My apologies. I did not realize you were in His Lordship’s service.”
“No worries,” Allen responded before stepping through. He immediately found his breath taken away and murmured with emotion, “I’m finally outside!”
Allen had dreamed of the view currently spread out before his eyes for eight years. He walked forward as if mesmerized. A part of him heard the gate guard say, “Lad, stay safe,” but he was too occupied to pay any mind.
A nearly bare grassland stretched out for about a kilometer from the gate, beyond which was a sparse forest that obscured the horizon. The trees seemed planted at regular intervals, indicating unnatural growth. It had been the same around Krena Village.
After walking for a while, Allen took his crest back out for a better look. The symbol was made of three trees, likely in reference to the wealth of untouched nature in the fiefdom.
Well then, Rank D monsters seem like a good place to start. I don’t think I’ll lose to something on par with an albaheron.
Allen had already learned at the Adventurer’s Guild that the strength of the monsters in this area was proportional to proximity to the White Dragon Mountains. The mountain range lay beyond Krena Village to the southwest of Granvelle City and stretched north to south into the far distance. The base of the mountains was a seven days’ walk from the city. Everything that Allen knew about the geography of the vicinity had come from Rickel, since he himself did not have access to the mansion’s study where maps of the fiefdom were presumably located.
If I have the misfortune of bumping into a high-ranked monster, I can just aggro it with Hopper and run away.
When used, Insect G’s Ability, Provoke, would cause monsters to become enraged. Allen intended to use it as a way to get unwanted monsters off his back.
Because his time was limited, Allen started to run. He stopped only after traversing around ten kilometers.
This should be far enough. Before I start hunting, I want to have a better look at the Bird E Summon. Come on out, Hawkins.
A giant hawk with a wingspan of two meters suddenly appeared in midair.
Come here.
“Pii!”
The Bird E landed and made its way over with stalking steps.
Hold on, it’s doing what I told it to even though I never trained it. Is this because of its high Intelligence? Spin around once, please.
Sure enough, the creature slowly turned around in a circle. Allen was delighted to have a Summon that could finally understand orders, but the first order of business was to analyze why. The first possible answer that came to mind was Intelligence. Whereas Bird E only started with 50 Intelligence, Strengthening Lvl. 4 buffed the stat by a hundred, bringing it to 150 in total.
Hm, I’ll tentatively take this to mean Summons can understand instructions once they reach 150 in Intelligence. Next: walk one meter to the right.
Hawkins obediently walked one meter to the right.
Nice, so it already understands words. Saves me the trouble. Let’s try this with other Summons. Tama, come on out.
A saber-toothed cat appeared, towering at a bit more than a meter tall and two meters in length. Now that Allen was getting to the third tier of unlockable Summons, they were starting to look quite intimidating.
Here, Tama. Come.
The large beast started rolling about on the ground, rubbing its back against the soft green grass and purring with contentment.
Hm, so I can’t give instructions to Tama, who’s the same rank but only has 28 Intelligence. In other words, the deciding factor really is the Intelligence stat, not the rank of the Summon.
Because he was done confirming the factor behind the Summons’ ability to comprehend words and instructions, Allen reverted Tama back to card form.
The other tests I want to do all need an opponent, so we might as well get started. Hawkins, use Hawk Eye and find me a target.
“Pii!”
Then Allen remained in place, waiting and enduring the heat of the sun that had climbed quite high by now. However, even after waiting fifteen minutes, Hawkins showed no sign of returning.
Gah, the encounter rate in this world is way too low.
The term “encounter rate” referred to the probability of encountering a monster while moving around in a game. In many of the games that Allen had played as Kenichi, the player character only had to walk for less than a minute after leaving town to bump into a monster. In contrast, despite currently being more than an hour away from Granvelle City, Allen had yet to see battle. Apparently monsters were not all that common in this world.
I’ve also waited more than an hour for an albaheron to fly overhead. This is just way too inefficient. I’ve got to make the most out of the limited time I have for hunting. You know what? I’ll send out the rest of the Bird E Summons that I stocked.
Allen gave the five Summons that appeared the same instruction he had the first. They cried out in unison, then took off in a burst of fluttering.
Okay, that should make it faster to find monsters to kill. Oh right, gotta take my short sword out. And in exchange, I’ll put the crest inside Storage so that I don’t accidentally drop it.
“Pii!”
This time, a Bird E came back right away. It descended and landed on a nearby tree as if saying, “This way.”
That direction, then?
Allen drew his weapon and cautiously proceeded in the direction indicated. He walked one hundred meters...three hundred meters...five hundred meters...and yet there was still no monster to be seen.
Ugh, is there actually a monster up ahead? I’m going to have to use more precise questions to figure out exactly how far away the target is.
Three other Hawkins were circling overhead, indicating that they had also found monsters.
Thinking about it, I should probably also limit the search radius I want. If it turns out what I’m now heading toward is ten kilometers away, not only is it too far away, I would be continuing on blind for the entire distance.
Just as Allen pondered how to use Hawkins in a smarter way, he noticed a humanoid figure looming ahead.
Hm? Is that a monster?
“Gugagaga.”
It turned out to be a monster about 150 centimeters tall with green skin. It had a cloth wrapped around its waist.
That’s gotta be a goblin, right?
“Gugagaga.”
Allen stopped and faced off against the goblin, who turned out to have four more companions. They all had muscular bodies and were holding swords or clubs. They cackled loudly, as if they thought lunch in the form of an eight-year-old boy had just dropped into their laps.
Crap, I lost the element of surprise.
One of the basics of fighting was to get a preemptive strike in. Allen would have preferred starting off the fight by first taking a few pot shots from behind cover, but he had let his guard down and barged right in instead.
“Gugagaga!” one of the goblins screamed, after which all of them charged forward, weapons held aloft.
Tamas, come out!
“Grrrrr!”
Allen could freely call out as many Summons as he wanted at the same time without any concern for MP costs. With that, five Strengthened saber-toothed cats surrounded Allen in a defensive formation.
“Guga?”
The goblins faltered in their steps, surprised by the sudden appearance of the Summons.
“Grrrr!”
That moment, five more Tamas appeared behind the group of goblins. Allen was capable of calling forth his Summons anywhere within fifty meters that he had direct line of sight to. Now the monsters were surrounded. Attacking an enemy from behind was the most basic, and the most effective, method of attack. Allen ordered all the sabertooths to use their Ability, Claw. The goblins flew into a mindless panic, clearly not very intelligent. When they turned around to face the assailants behind them, the ones protecting Allen surged forward in attack. Two goblins fell immediately.
Before the others die... Ageha, come on out and use your Ability!
A giant butterfly with a meter wingspan appeared. It flapped its wings toward the goblins, covering them with a yellowish powder. Two of the remaining three monsters fell asleep on their feet so quickly it was as if they had lost consciousness.
Allen took out a rock from Storage and threw it at the face of one of the sleeping goblins with his full strength. However, no line appeared on his grimoire, indicating that it was still alive.
That wasn’t enough to finish it off, huh?
One of the Beast Es dealt the finishing blow to the monster with a crushed-in face.
<You have defeated 1 goblin. You have earned 200 XP.>
I see, so one goblin gives me 200 XP. There’s five of them here, which means a total of 1,000 XP! Yahoo!
Allen could not help but do a little jig inside his mind after calculating how much XP he would gain from this fight. He earned 100 XP from one albaheron and 400 XP from one great boar. Thanks to the adoption of his suggestions, the hunting party at Krena Village had become capable of hunting three great boars each trip, which added up to a total of 1,200 XP.
Efficiency’s always important to consider when grinding. Goblins have better hourly rates, plain and simple.
Back when Allen was Kenichi, he had always thought of earning XP within games in terms of “hourly rates.” Great boars were, including the time needed to reach and return from the hunting grounds, worth 1,200 XP for six hours. In sharp contrast, he had just earned 1,000 XP before two hours had even passed. That made the hourly rate for great boars 200 and for goblins 500. It was blatantly obvious which was more efficient.
The Hawkins circling above told Allen his next target was already lined up.
Good, good. Let’s grab the magic stones in these goblins and then move on. But hm, so Scale Powder causes the Sleep debuff. Just one Ageha was enough to have an effect. This supports my hypothesis.
From what he had observed, Allen had realized there was a certain rule to the debuffs cast by the Insect cards. He wanted to confirm it through today’s battles.
For now, he approached the dead goblins and used his short sword to cut into their chests, taking out their magic stones. It was honestly quite a gross task, but magic stones were precious. This was especially true for Allen as a Summoner—magic stones could very likely determine his survival someday. As such, just leaving them untouched was not an option. Soon, Allen’s stock of magic stones had gone up by five.
During that time, multiple Tamas kept a vigilant lookout around Allen just in case there were other goblins nearby. Getting attacked from behind was a very real danger when soloing.
All right, that’s the harvesting done. Hawkins, I want more goblins! Those who saw a group of five or more just now, come on down. Has to be within three kilometers, though. The rest of you, go back out there and keep looking with Hawk Eye.
Promptly, four of the hawks flew off. Two descended, seemingly having found something that matched Allen’s criteria. They indicated the direction, then Allen took off.
After this, Allen completely lost himself in goblin hunting. Time passed in a flash, and before he knew it, the sun had started to go down.
Nice! Thanks to killing eighty goblins and five horned rabbits in total, my level’s gone up by two! Days off are the best!
A single goblin gave 200 XP and a horned rabbit gave 10. All together, Allen had earned 16,050 XP today alone. He was now Lvl. 9.
As a result of his testing today, he had also figured out a rule behind the Insect Summons. When he wanted the Insect Gs to use their Ability on albaherons, a monster three ranks higher at D, he needed three of them to work together. Conversely, a single Insect E had been able to affect a group of goblins, Rank D monsters. From this, he derived the following postulates:
One Summon is sufficient to affect a monster one rank higher with an Ability
Two Summons are needed to affect a monster two ranks higher with an Ability
An additional Summon is needed to affect a monster each successive rank higher with an Ability
The probability of successfully debuffing a monster is not 100% (unaffected by the number of Summons)
A single Summon is capable of debuffing several monsters at once
The debuff from Scale Powder turned out to be Sleep. It was roughly eighty percent effective against goblins, which was a very high number. Admittedly, this might be a number specific to only goblins, so more testing was needed.
Unfortunately, Allen’s side did not exactly get through the day unscathed. The goblins, buff as they were, had proved surprisingly effective at killing the saber-toothed tigers. The Strengthening skill had given the Beast E Summons more HP and Attack, which meant they were still quite low on Agility and Endurance. It certainly did not help matters that their rank was lower than the goblins’.
Allen started off every fight using Insect E, but there were times when he got unlucky and Scale Powder still left more goblins standing than not. When that happened, the Tamas would end up taking more attacks. In order to offset his losses, Allen searched out horned rabbits every now and then for their Rank E magic stones.
Another thing that Allen learned today was that he could not create Rank E Summons using the Rank D magic stones harvested from goblins. When Creating and Synthesizing new Summons, he needed magic stones of the exact same rank.
All right, next group! Where are you, my little goblins?
Groups of goblins were the perfect targets, as they meant more XP in one place with less searching. Allen continued seeking them out, feeling like he had become a goblin hunter. However, all six of his hawks suddenly circled once in the air and then descended.
Hm? What’s wrong? Are you tired? I can still go on, though.
Allen recalled when, as Kenichi, he had gone hunting with a party in an online game for eight hours straight until a member yelled, “I’m tired already!”
The birds, which were now standing in a row on the ground, all shook their heads. Apparently the reason for their behavior was not fatigue. With a start, Allen suddenly realized his surroundings had gotten rather dim. It would not be long before the sun set completely.
Wait, is it because you guys can’t see in the dark?
Six nods confirmed Allen’s guess.
“Oh my god, you guys really are hawks! So you can’t scout at night. Uh-oh, I’m in trouble, then.”
It was at this moment that Allen finally realized that he had completely lost his sense of direction after all the twists and turns he took chasing goblins. He had no idea where he currently was nor what direction Granvelle City was.
I’d planned on having Hawkins direct me back home, but it looks like I’ll have to figure it out myself.
Thankfully, there was still a little bit of sun, which gave Allen a general idea of direction. He then dashed as fast as he could through the darkening forest. Several hours later, he successfully returned to the city gate. By now, it was pitch black outside.
“Oh, there you are, lad! Congrats on making it back in one piece.”
“Th-Thank you, sir.”
It was the same guard who had been standing at the gate since morning.
Guards sure have it tough, having to be on their feet all day long, Allen thought while producing his crest. But okay, that was a really close shave. I’m going to have to wrap things up earlier in the day next time.
Thus Allen’s first full day off ended with a little bit of introspection.
＊ ＊ ＊
It was now mid-December, roughly a month after Allen had started dedicating his one day off each week to hunting. The arrangement made him think back to his elementary school days, when his parents only allowed him to game on Sundays. A rather nonsensical rule, now that he thought about it, but that was neither here nor there.
One day, after finishing work hours, Allen visited a weapons shop around the chiming of the 9 p.m. bell.
“Here ya go,” the owner said, handing over iron spheres the size of baseballs. “Still haven’t the faintest idea what you plan on doing with those, but whaddya think?”
“Oh, these are perfect! Thank you very much! Sixty silver for all three, right?”
The owner nodded and accepted the money that Allen was holding out.
These feel great in the hand. Now I finally have replacements for my throwing stones.
After exiting the store, Allen put the iron spheres away inside Storage and returned to the mansion.
＊ ＊ ＊
Today was Allen’s fourth day off. Thanks to spending all his off time so far on hunting, he was now Lvl. 12. The stat increase was great, but it had come with a new problem. Namely, stones broke whenever he threw them. Because he no longer had any chance to use Insect G’s Provoke, he replaced most of them with Beast E instead, which buffed his Attack even higher. All the throwing stones that Allen had brought along from Krena Village had been shattered in attacks against goblins.
As replacements, Allen had ordered iron balls from a weapons shop. According to the owner, it was not all that much trouble, as it was simply a matter of changing the shape of a lump of iron originally meant for making a weapon anyway. Because of this, he was willing to part with one ball for twenty silvers. Allen had ordered three.
The list of things I need to buy just keeps growing. Armor is a given, but I also want a fire-starting magic tool, and I want to eventually have ten iron balls in total. Of course, I really also ought to get a better weapon. But that’s at the lowest priority, since I mainly fight with my Summons.
Allen reviewed the shopping list that he had written down in his grimoire. The fire-starting magic tool cost three gold. There was a huge range of prices when it came to armor, but the higher-end ones naturally cost several gold. The same was true for weapons.
I really feel like a game character who’s arrived at the starting town and is gathering his first set of equipment!
Despite being in need of money, Allen’s heart still beat quickly in excitement. He recalled the emotions he had felt from visiting a new town inside a game and anticipating the new equipment available.
Hunt monsters, earn XP, use money to improve my equipment. Now this is the old-school playing style. Though the money I’m using is from my salary and not from selling drops.
Servants at House Granvelle received their salaries at the end of each month. Allen’s monthly salary was fifty silver. A hundred silver equaled one gold, which meant his annual salary was six gold. Servants of House Granvelle were exempted from the head tax.
The monthly salary for each rank in the household’s servant hierarchy was as follows: the top rank, which the butler belonged to, received five gold; the second rank, which the head chef belonged to, received two gold; the lowest rank, which Allen belonged to, received one gold. The reason Allen was receiving only half the amount that was normal for his standing was because he was under twelve years of age. Rickel had been the one to tell Allen all of this; as head manservant, he received one gold and fifty silver each month.
If I could register goblin-killing quests with the Adventurer’s Guild, I would earn more. Oh well, it’s not like I need money so badly it’d kill me. And most importantly, the Guild building is too far away anyway.
In every one of the fights so far, his Summons tanked all the attacks, and Allen had yet to get hurt even once. Because of this, armor was not very high on his list of priorities either. He was content with waiting for his money to slowly accrue.
Once again, Allen got back late that night. He was about to head back to his own room when he bumped into Rickel.
“Hi, Mr. Rickel. Good night.”
“Ah, there you are. I know it’s late, but Sebas is calling for you.”
“What?”
Allen could not remember doing anything that would merit being called for, but ignoring the summons was not an option. After thanking Rickel for conveying the message, he headed to the butler’s room.
Knock, knock.
“Excuse me. It’s Allen.”
“Mm, come in.”
Despite it being quite late at night, the butler was still willing to talk. When Allen entered the room, Sebas gestured toward one of the sofas.
“I heard you wanted to see me, sir.”
“Indeed.”
A long silence then ensued. Allen patiently waited for Sebas to broach the topic.
“Allen. Your work in the mansion is beyond reproach. I’ve heard from the other servants that you are diligent and conscientious.”
When Sebas finally started speaking, it seemed like he was carefully choosing his words.
“Thank you very much, sir.”
“However, work is not the only thing that matters. What you do in your off time is also important. You must remain constantly self-aware of your identity as a member of House Granvelle.”
What’s this? Am I getting scolded for something?
“Of course, sir.”
Sebas looked straight into Allen’s eyes. “What are you doing on your days off?”
“I’m sorry, sir?”
On his days off, Allen would head out before the sun rose. In a great hurry too. And when he returned, it was invariably after 9 p.m. With this having continued for a full month, it was only natural his behavior would lead to questions.
Just as Allen was considering whether to tell the truth or not, Sebas said, “I’m not letting you out of this room until you answer my question.”
I see. Well, I don’t have a choice, then.
Allen was hunting around Granvelle City, and while he did his best to avoid people, there were still times he passed by adventurers. It was only a matter of time before word of a black-haired child hunting in the area spread. Not that he had any intention of stopping what he was doing.
“I’ve been hunting monsters,” Allen replied truthfully.
“You’ve been hunting monsters?”
“Yes, sir. On my days off, from morning to night, I’ve been hunting monsters outside the city.”
The butler’s eyes widened in surprise. He felt as if he was looking at the very concept of absurdity given the form of an eight-year-old boy.
“Is that why you asked Rickel about the White Dragon Mountains and the Adventurer’s Guild?”
He reported me?
Allen felt resentful toward Rickel for a split second but then thought better of it. If the butler asked Rickel about the possibly suspicious behavior of one of his charges, it was only natural for him to share what he knew.
“Yes it is, sir.”
“So that is why you asked for full days off. Why do you hunt?”
“Because I am Boar Hunter Rodin’s son. I want to grow up into an upstanding person like my father one day.”
To Allen’s own surprise, the words flowed naturally from his mouth. He realized he believed what he had said.
I see, so I really am the son of Rodin, the man who wanted to become a hunter. I just happen to also really love hunting. I guess we really are father and son.
Allen was satisfied with the answer that he had just found within himself. Despite being far apart, he and his father had a common bond in hunting. It was a very deep connection, as far as bonds went, as this was their shared purpose in life, their raison d’être. Allen even suspected that him being born to Rodin had been an intentional arrangement on the part of the gods.
“Hunting on my off days is what I live for.”
“What you live for, huh? So it’s that important to you. Hmm...I suppose you really are Rodin’s son after all.”
Understanding dawned on Sebas’s face. Surely, Allen had been greatly influenced by his father while growing up. The son of the village’s champion now declared hunting his reason to exist. Back when he had said he would quit being a manservant if he did not get full days off, his eyes had been lit by the same glint of resolve.
“I see. Well, having a raison d’être is a good thing, as long as it doesn’t cause other people trouble like Dudley’s does.”
Dudley? That’s...the head chef, right? Ah, I do remember him and Sebas locking horns every once in a while.
The head chef loved cooking above all else. By and large that was a good thing. However, he would go over budget buying ingredients to experiment with dishes. He showed no qualms about standing up to Sebas despite being one tier lower on the hierarchy, likely due to them being close in age. During his time at the mansion, Allen had already happened upon the butler and head chef shouting at each other multiple times, the former repeatedly upbraiding the latter for not staying within budget, and the latter insisting on raising the quality of the food being served.
“Yes, sir. I’ll be careful not to trouble anyone else.”
“If I can be entirely frank with you, Allen, I want your work in this mansion to become what you live for. Just like it did for me.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
Well that’s gonna be difficult. After being reincarnated and all, I don’t want to live out my years in someone else’s service.
Allen’s half-hearted answer and stiff smile caused Sebas to sigh and shrug his shoulders.
“Well then... What have you been doing with the horned rabbits you bring back?”
“I’m sorry, sir?”
Apparently Sebas was under the misconception that Allen had been hunting horned rabbits close to the city walls. The thought that Allen was hunting goblins hours away had not even crossed his mind.
“There’s no need to hide it. You’ve been selling them to a butcher’s for some pocket money, yes?”
Ahhh, so that’s what he really wanted to know. Should I correct... Nah, let’s play along.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Mm, it’s not a very good look for a member of House Granvelle to be earning pocket money on the side. There’s no telling what rumors might be generated from this.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Allen repeated, doing his best to seem apologetic. The truth was that he only harvested the magic stones and left the rest in the forest. He did not want to waste the time it would take him to drop by the butcher’s after hunting, after all. Currently, XP was much more valuable to him than money was.
“But that said, we can hardly let the meat go to waste. As such, bring the horned rabbits back. We will pay you for them, separate from your monthly salary.”
“Really?!” Talk about a nice surprise!
The meat that he had been discarding now had value.
“You’re that happy about it? I’m making it clear now, but we won’t be paying you all that much. One silver for each horned rabbit is all we’ll give.”
This was still more than enough. In this way, Allen’s hunting was—partially—exposed to Sebas the butler.
＊ ＊ ＊
The first off day since Allen’s confession to Sebas rolled around. Just as before, he left the mansion first thing in the morning and ran to the city gate, where the usual guard was standing sentry. Allen was impressed with how the man could keep at it this early and in such cold weather.
“You heading out again today, lad?”
“Yes, sir.”
The two exchanged light banter while waiting for the 6 a.m. bell. Last time, the guard had told Allen he did not need to show his crest anymore. Because of that, it was now inside his Storage. Apparently the check was not as strict as it was when using train or plane tickets in his previous life.
The gate soon opened at the usual time, and Allen took off. The first snowfall had come, and the year was almost over. The casual wear that he had been issued was not very thick, but because he was moving about so vigorously, he did not really feel the cold.
The city receded farther and farther into the distance.
All right, this should be far enough. Come on out, Hawkins.
Six Bird E Summons appeared at the same time several dozen meters in the air. After Allen instructed them to go look for goblins, they scattered in various directions.
Allen had tried hunting other monsters but ultimately concluded that goblins gave the highest hourly rate. Only goblin groups gave more than 1,000 XP for each encounter. There were other Rank D monsters that gave more XP per monster than goblins did, but they wandered in much smaller groups. Goblins also appeared much more frequently than other monsters did, which definitely helped make it much more efficient hunting them.
Today, let’s aim to kill a hundred goblins and a few horned rabbits for their magic stones and meat. Bringing five back should be enough, I think?
While waiting for his Summons to return, Allen decided on his quota for the day. The rate of encounter with monsters was not all that high. If he did not have Hawkins constantly scouting from the sky, he might only have three encounters a day. Hawk Eye was proving helpful in improving Allen’s hunting efficiency.
Before long, one Hawkins returned, and the day of hunting kicked off.
Three hours later, Allen stopped to eat his lunch of steamed potatoes and molmo. Because he was running around all day long, it was important to give his body the energy it needed. The molmo fruit also served to replenish his liquids, making it a very efficient food. Of course, it did not hurt that it was delicious too.
Just as Allen was biting into a molmo, one Hawkins landed on the branch of the tree beside him.
“Welcome back. Wait a bit. I’m almost done eating.”
“PII!”
Hm? What’s this?
The bird’s behavior seemed somehow different from usual. A quick look upward revealed three other Hawkins circling overhead. That meant they had found targets for Allen to hunt, but they were not coming down, almost as if yielding priority to the one that had landed.
Huh?
“PIIII!” The Hawkins on the tree cried out again, louder this time, and with a noticeable tone of urgency.
“Did something happen?”
Allen put his half-eaten potato into Storage and stood up. Immediately, Hawkins spread its wings and slowly flew off. When it looked down and confirmed that Allen was indeed following along, it then started flying faster and faster.
Where’s it hurrying to?
Of the Summons, Bird cards had high Agility as a base stat. After being Strengthened, Hawkins’s speed was nothing to scoff at. Thankfully, Allen was capable of keeping up thanks to the buffs he received from the cards.
We’ve gone quite far. Where’s it taking me?
Fifteen minutes of running later, Allen’s ears picked up faint shouts coming from up ahead.
“Run away, Milci! I’ll hold them back!”
“What are you saying, Rita?! I can’t leave you and Raven behind!”
“Milci and Rita, you should both go! It’s too late for me!”
Hm? Are they in battle? Wait, “Raven”?
When Allen got closer, he spotted the three adventurers he had met before in the Adventurer’s Guild. The man with the sword who had answered all of Allen’s questions, Raven, was clearly wounded. The woman with the staff was supporting him, while the dagger-wielding girl was standing protectively in front of the other two.
Although two goblins lay dead on the ground, there were still four currently concentrating their attacks on the dagger girl, whose name was apparently Rita. One of her arms seemed to be out of commission, merely dangling and dripping blood. Despite this, she was putting up a good fight with her one good hand, desperately standing her ground. The goblins inched closer slowly, their faces warped in sneers.
When he got within twenty meters, Allen took out an iron ball from his Storage and threw it with all his strength.
Here goes the first pitch.
Squish!
“Guga?”
The iron ball showed no sign of shattering even after completely caving in one of the goblins’ faces. The monster crumpled to the ground.
“Looks like you need some help, Ms. Rita!”
“Huh? Who’re you?”
Wha— Don’t turn around! You’re still in a fight!
Another iron ball made contact with a goblin’s face. This one, however, remained on its feet, albeit very shakily. Apparently the iron ball alone was not quite enough to guarantee a one-hit kill every time.
“The ones that took my attack are still alive. Don’t let your guard down!”
“O-Okay...”
Rita looked taken aback by the sudden arrival of reinforcements, but there was no time to let her compose herself. Allen threw his last ball. Unfortunately, the goblins were now aware of him and had their guards up. The goblin he was targeting managed to raise an arm in time to block the projectile. The impact clearly broke the arm, but the monster still had more than enough vitality to pose a threat. It shifted its club to its other arm.
There are two goblins left who can still attack. Guess I have no choice but to get personal.
Allen had zero intention of showing his Summons to other people, so he drew the short sword on his waist and charged out in front of Rita. He had already reverted all Hawkins to card form when he had first heard the group’s shouts.
“I’ll take on the unhurt one! You take the one with one arm!”
“O-Okay...”
Allen’s chosen opponent rushed toward him, brandishing a rusty, beat-up longsword. When Allen hunted albaherons, he had started the fights by draining their power using Insect F Summons. This time, that option was not available to him, leaving this a purely physical fight without the use of any abilities on either side.
Because Allen did not want to unnecessarily wear down the edge of his short sword, he opted to dodge all of the goblin’s wide swings. As he had already reached Lvl. 12, after adding in the buffs he received from his cards, his Attack and Agility were both above 300. He closed in on his opponent in the blink of an eye, slashed at its throat, then backed off to avoid the jet of blood. The monster crumpled to the ground, dead.
Hm, that was easy. So I’m already strong enough to effortlessly handle Rank D monsters.
The reason Allen never fought in person up until now was because he did not want to get his valuable outfit, which had been issued to him, dirty with blood spurts.
When Allen turned around to aid Rita, he found her delivering the killing blow to her opponent. She was capable enough of winning the fight, though she did apparently suffer a few more shallow wounds in the process. The two then went over and finished off the two goblins who had taken iron balls to their faces.
“Raven!”
“Ugh...”
Allen took a closer look at the man and confirmed that he was indeed the same person he had bumped into at the Adventurer’s Guild. Rita and Milci called his name in desperation, but all he could do was let out a weak rattle. He was clearly on the verge of death.
This lady called Milci looks like the party healer. Does the fact that she can’t do anything mean she ran out of MP? There’s no other choice; it’s time to test out a Leaf of Life.
When Allen approached, the two women became slightly wary. He was a black-haired boy clearly under the age of ten who had appeared out of the blue to make short work of an enemy they were struggling so much against. Allen did not fault them for their caution.
“Excuse me, I have an herb. Would you like me to use it?”
“Really?!” the two women cried out in unison, their expressions instantly brightening up.
“We’ll pay however much you want! Please save Raven!”
Allen pretended to reach behind and pulled out a Leaf of Life from Storage.
I never expected the first test subject to be someone so close to dying. Hm, this probably looks different from every other commonly used herb out there, so I should probably cover it with my hand.
The name of the item hinted at its ability to restore HP, but Allen had yet to test it out. Because he had no idea how to actually use the wide, flat, perilla-like leaf, he reached out with it clenched in his fist and attempted to press it directly against the wound on Raven’s abdomen.
The two women worriedly looked between Raven’s blank face and Allen’s actions. They were so desperate they were grasping at straws for any scrap of hope.
Please don’t look at me with so much expectation in your eyes. I have no idea how much this can heal him. In the first place, I don’t even know for sure that it’s an HP recovery item.
When the Leaf of Life made contact, it shone brightly and then disappeared like bubbles. Right after that, Raven’s wound, which had been deep enough to reach even his organs, closed back up gradually right before their eyes. Soon enough, the only sign there had been a wound was all the sticky blood left around the area.
Raven regained consciousness and slowly opened his eyes, his mind completely clear. He gingerly touched his stomach, then looked down at it.
“Really?” he murmured in bewilderment, realizing that he had made a full recovery.
“RAVEN!” his two companions cried, cheering with relief.
“Wh-What happened...?” The man failed to understand how he was still alive. He asked Milci if she had healed him, but she shook her head, wiping tears from her eyes.
“I’m glad you’re fine. Ms. Rita, was it? Here, I’ll heal your arm too,” Allen said before pressing another Leaf of Life against her dangling arm. Of course, he made sure to hold it in a way that it was not visible.
As all three adventurers looked on, time seemed to rewind for the arm. Before long, it was back to being as good as new. Some of the bones inside had been broken, but Rita had no problem lifting it up. She clenched and opened her hand multiple times in marvel.
Suddenly, all three started and shouted in unison, “Flower of Muellerze!”
As Raven and Rita wondered why Allen had used such a precious herb for their sake, the boy said, “Well, it looks like you’re both fine now. What about you, Ms. Milci? Are you hurt?”
Although she did not have any obvious external wounds, Allen did have one last Leaf of Life, so he offered it just in case.
“N-No, I’m fine!” Milci replied, thrusting out both hands in a fluster and shaking them vigorously to demonstrate how healthy she was.
“I’m glad to hear it. Can you guys get back on your own? Granvelle City’s that way.”
Because he always hunted until the last available minute, Allen was now very practiced at deriving the direction to Granvelle City based on the location of the sun.
“Huh? Uhhh, yeeeaaah. We’re good. If I’m not injured, I can easily take care of goblins,” Raven responded.
When Raven stood up, he realized that he was unarmed. The group had probably been attacked quite a distance away, which was when he had lost his sword and gotten hurt. So he walked over and picked up one of the rusty swords dropped by a goblin.
“Well, then my work here is done,” Allen said, turning to leave. “You guys take care.”
“No, wait!” Raven protested before stopping himself. Now that he was no longer on the verge of death, he finally had the composure to take a good look at Allen. “Huh? Aren’t you the kid I met at the Guild?”
“Yes, I am. Why?” Allen replied curtly, an annoyed look on his face. If you can get back by yourselves, then do it already. I really want to get back to hunting.
This whole incident had cost Allen about an hour of time. This was his precious day off. He was itching to get going.
“Please let us thank you.”
“Your gratitude is enough, thanks.”
However, Raven stopped him once again. From Raven’s point of view, Allen had saved his party from certain death and even used two Flowers of Muellerze on them, an item that cost several gold per pop. It would eat at his conscience to not return that favor in some way.
I still have sixty goblins to go for my quota for the day. Let me go already!
Of course, Raven had no idea what Allen was thinking. “Can’t we thank you in some way?” he asked one more time.
Seeing how persistent Raven was, Allen gave it some thought, then said, “In that case... Mr. Raven, right? You’re an adventurer?”
Raven spread his arms. “I am, as you can see. Why?”
“I’m in a hurry today. But when we meet again next time, tell me a lot more about adventurers.”
“Sure.”
Raven waited for Allen to continue.
Why does he look like he— Bro, that’s all. I’m done. What else do you want me to say? Ah, I do have one thing.
“Also, don’t tell anyone about me.”
“Of course. I won’t tell anyone.”
Milci and Rita also nodded. Then Raven waited once again for Allen to continue.
“Nothing else really comes to mi— Oh, right, can I have all these goblins’ magic stones? Oh! Speaking of magic stones!”
Finally, something substantial came to Allen’s mind. Once, when he visited a magic tool shop in Granvelle City to check out items that he might need while adventuring, he had also asked the store owner if he had Rank E magic stones for sale. The owner replied that he only bought them and was not selling any. Now, the idea to have Raven and his group gather some came to Allen’s mind.
“What? Did you think of something?”
“So, I’m gathering Rank E magic stones.”
“Okay.”
“So, if you really want to thank me, let me have these goblins’ magic stones, then also get me a hundred Rank E ones.”
“A-Are you sure that’s all you want?”
“Of course. Are you based in Granvelle City?”
“Yep, we’re staying long-term at an inn in the city.”
“I see. Where is it? I’ll drop by to pick the magic stones up in person. Please leave them with reception and tell them to expect someone named Allen to come for them. How long would it take you?”
According to Raven, they could gather that number in a week. Although he still seemed somewhat unconvinced that this was enough as a reward, he finally backed down.
Allen wasted no time in cutting out the magic stones from the goblins’ bodies. “Well, I won’t see you off. I hope you get back to town safely.”
“Thank you for everything once again.”
“Thank you.”
“Thanks!”
Then Allen took off into the forest, not even sparing a single backward glance. He stopped only after having gotten quite far away.
I lost so much time from that. But, well, I did gain a hundred Rank E magic stones in exchange, so I guess I can consider it a wash. Hm, what should I do now? Should I get back to hunting, or should I sit down to go over what I just learned?
Allen decided on the latter.
First, this Leaf of Life. Now I know for sure it recovers HP. I honestly never thought this would be how I’d end up testing it.
He stared closely at the last remaining piece in his hand. By all appearances, it looked like a perilla leaf from his previous world. He now knew that it could be used by pressing directly against a wound.
There are two kinds of recovery items. This is most likely the fixed amount kind.
Different games had different names for HP, but in all of them, the game character would be considered dead when that specific number reached zero. Items that could be used to replenish health were called recovery items, and these fell into two large classifications.
Ones that healed by percentage of max HP
Ones that healed a fixed amount of HP
For the former, if a character had maximum 1,000 HP and used an item that replenished 30% health, that would work out to a recovery of 300 HP. For the latter, if the item healed a flat value of 500, then it would just heal 500 HP regardless of the character’s max HP value.
In light of this, the way Rodin and Raven each recovered made for an interesting contrast. After using a Flower of Muellerze, it had taken Rodin another full month before he could walk again. On the other hand, after using a Leaf of Life, Raven had become fully conscious, had no trouble standing up, and had even gone to pick up a goblin’s sword.
The obvious conclusion to draw is that the former is percentage-based and the latter is a fixed number.
If Leaf of Life was percentage-based, then it would be 100%. That was far too good to be true, especially considering it was an item generated from a mere Rank E Summon. Raven’s max HP was probably still low, which was why one Leaf of Life had brought him back to perfect health.
Well, that’s enough about Leaf of Life. Next thing to check is the log on my grimoire.
<You have defeated 1 goblin. You have earned 160 XP.>
<You have defeated 1 goblin. You have earned 160 XP.>
<You have defeated 1 goblin. You have earned 160 XP.>
The last three lines were from the goblins that Allen had killed as a joint effort.
This amount of XP is only 80% of what I normally get when I fight alone. The people present during the fight were me and three other adventurers, but only Rita and I actually fought. But if I got 80% because of that... Hmm, that means XP distribution is not divided by the number of fighters. It’s probably more along the lines of receiving 80% when fighting as part of a group.
Some games required players to hunt together in large groups. In such situations, if XP was divided equally among all participants, each person would get a very limited amount and it would not be worth it. Instead, those games set it up so that participants gained a marked down percentage of the maximum XP givable by the target—for example, sixty or eighty percent—unrelated to the actual number of people fighting.
The great boars gave me 400 XP. If that was 80%, then it means one great boar gives 500 XP in total. But there’s no way a Rank C monster gives only 2.5 times what a goblin does. It would make more sense for it to give something along the lines of 1,000 XP.
Based on what he had experienced firsthand and learned about combat in this world, Allen deduced what he thought were two rules about XP distribution from fighting in a group.
Fighting as a group of 2 to 4: Each person gains 80%
Fighting as a group of 20 to 40: Each person gains 40%
Yep, I think that’s more like it.
Allen made sure to make proper notes in his grimoire about what he had just figured out regarding Leaf of Life and XP distribution.
Now, the most important thing. Hawkins, come on out.
A Bird E appeared. As they were now in an open area, Allen would have normally Summoned it up in the air. This time, however, he purposely Summoned it on the ground, right in front of him.
“Why did you disobey my orders?”
The bird hung its head as if to convey how sorry it felt.
“What were my orders? ‘Find me a group of five or more goblins within three kilometers that I can reach in a straight line without bumping into adventurers.’ Right?”
The bird hung its head even lower.
“Is it because you wanted to save those adventurers?”
The bird bobbed its head once. The sight left Allen struggling quite a while for a response.
“In other words, you...have an ego. You’re self-aware.”
The bird tilted its head, puzzled either by the concept, the terms, or both.
“I see, so you’re not intelligent enough for that kind of thinking. But, hm... So the Summons possess consciousness.”
Up until now, Allen had thought of his Summons as mechanical existences that only moved as he told them to, rather like androids or computer programs. However, that was apparently not the case. Hawkins had chosen to prioritize its own will above a direct instruction from Allen and instead led him toward a group of adventurers who were about to die. In other words, Summons were sentient and could think for themselves.
So, these are the Summons created by the gods above.
If it was really the God of Creation who had created humans and this world, then it was probably a piece of cake for him to create Summons with egos.
When Allen reached forward to rub Hawkins’s head to offset his strict tone from earlier, the bird’s expression immediately turned into one of delight.
“All right, I’ll change up the instruction next time onward. Make sure to follow them, okay?”
“Pii!” Hawkins cried loudly and spread its wings, a gesture that Allen interpreted as “Okay!”
Chapter 3: Huntsman
It was now the end of December. The week after saving Raven and his companions, Allen went hunting again. Afterward, he picked up the promised Rank E magic stones. Raven had gone out of his way to wait for Allen to hand the pouch over in person rather than leaving it with reception as originally agreed.
Allen was currently in line for a meal at the servants’ dining hall, deep in his thoughts, when Dudley suddenly talked to him.
“Something got ya down, lad?”
The head chef had started engaging Allen in conversation every once in a while as of late. The pensive look on Allen’s face had apparently caught his attention.
“Oh, no, I’m fine, sir.”
“Here, have this. Eat up.” A rather large piece of meat was added to Allen’s bowl of soup.
“Thank you, sir.”
Rickel, who had just been served, whirled back around. “Why does Allen get some and I don’t?! I want meat too!”
“Hah? An’ what’ve you done that makes ya think you deserve meat? Allen’s already brought back ten horned rabbits. What ’bout you?”
“Awww, c’mon!”
Allen had delivered a total of ten horned rabbits from the past two days he had gone hunting. Five rabbits per day was the quota that he had set for himself, figuring that was the limit of what a normal eight-year-old boy might be able to bag after a full day hunting outside. Plus, he could never have too many Rank E magic stones.
In reality, however, Sebas had been more than impressed with Allen bringing back five horned rabbits each time. After all, the number of monsters was not all that high in this world in the first place. Horned rabbits were also solitary, so hunting them was not very efficient. Due to this, being able to catch two or three a day was already considered a job well done.
The head chef was absolutely over the moon about the meat being brought back and happily butchered the beasts. This was the reason he had started speaking to Allen recently, and also why he gave the boy extra meat during meals.
“By the way, have ya heard? Young Master Mihai will be visiting home next spring.”
Hm? Mihai...is the oldest son, right? The one who went to study in Academy City?
“I’d not heard.”
“When he last left, I asked him to bring back some honey sold in the royal capital. You ever tried any? It’s so sweet like ya wouldn’t believe.”
“I’m afraid not. But now you’ve gotten me interested.”
“Hah, I was hoping you’d say that! If ya catch me a few big toads when they pop up next spring, I’ll secretly share some of the honey with ya!”
“Really?! I’ll do my best!”
Damn, how long has it been since I’ve had honey? Hmm, big toads, was it? Is it because they’re hibernating right now that they only appear in spring?
“What?! Mr. Dudley, what’re you saying to Allen?! Big toads are Rank D monsters! And Allen, don’t you take him seriously!” Rickel cried loudly, drawing the attention of other nearby servants.
After breakfast, Allen went upstairs to clean Cecil’s room as usual. When that was done, he then did the laundry. He did not have to stick to Cecil’s side at all waking hours of the day, so he had spare time every so often. He often spent that time proactively helping out other servants, be it with cleaning or other miscellaneous jobs.
He just so happened to be cleaning in the garden when Knight Captain Zenof arrived. He did not live in the Granvelle mansion, but his duties did require him to drop by often, including when he had to report to Baron Granvelle in person.
“Welcome, Sir.”
“Mm.”
Rickel had told Allen quite a bit about the chivalric order. The kingdom was not currently embroiled in any wars, and even if it were, the fiefdom of Granvelle was not on the border. As such, the knights mainly dismantled bandit rings and killed monsters that were causing trouble for the citizens. While adventurers could also handle problems with monsters, a variety of circumstances sometimes made it difficult for them to do so. And that was where the knights came in.
＊ ＊ ＊
Nighttime arrived, and it turned out Zenof was staying for dinner. It was not all that rare for the knight captain or vice-captain to do so. As always, Allen took part in serving the meal.
“It looks like you’ve gotten quite used to your work,” Zenof commented appreciatively.
“Thank you for your words, Sir.”
“You do your father proud. As I’m sure you’ve already heard, Krena Village has successfully finished hunting twenty great boars this year.”
“It is a relief to hear.”
Krena Village had met this year’s quota by the end of November. Thanks to the villagers squeezing in three hunts before the baron’s arrival, they had ended up quite ahead of schedule. Before Allen left, Rodin had told him that they now had the leeway to scale back and leave ten days between each of the remaining hunts.
“But why aren’t we getting any of the meat even though they hunted so many?” Thomas asked with a scowl. “Whenever winter comes, we’ve always had boar meat!”
Now that he’s mentioned it, it’s true I haven’t seen much meat here at the mansion. The great boars killed in October should have already arrived in town by now.
The meat from the great boars needed to be preserved first—a process that normally took around two months—before being transported to Granvelle City. Consequently, several metric tons of it should have arrived in town not too long ago. However, it had yet to appear in the dinner fare at the Granvelle mansion.
The baron chastised his son and told him to not make a fuss, leaving the boy visibly dejected. Baron Granvelle was a man who was rather strict with his children.
Back at Krena Village, the baron did explain during his audience that the reason he asked the hunting party to double the number of great boars was because of a royal decree. In other words, it was the king who wanted the meat. Did all of it get sent to the royal capital, then? On that super huge magic ship?
As Allen was in the middle of his thoughts, Thomas turned to the knight captain and asked with hopeful eyes, “Zenof, can you catch a deer for us this year?”
The knight shot the baron a look. The latter shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Young Master Thomas. Hunting for food is not part of our duties as knights.”
I mean, the knights did come to Krena Village to hunt great boars. I guess the baron means for this to be a teaching opportunity for Thomas.
“Aww, c’mon!” Thomas made his sullenness clear on his face.
“Thomas, that’s enough! The knights aren’t here to listen to your whim and fancy!”
Finally, Baron Granvelle lost his temper with his son’s complaints. Thomas flinched in fright, prompting the baroness to intervene.
“Darling, I’m sure Thomas knows better. Right, Thomas? But it is true that if we have no boar or deer, the coming New Year’s Greeting is going to be rather modest.”
The Greeting was a celebration hosted at the feudal lord’s mansion at the very start of each new year. It was normally supposed to be a grand affair.
“That’s just how this year is. There’s not much we can do about it.”
Both the baron and butler sighed bitterly. This prompted the baroness to also look down sadly. Thomas, after seeing everyone’s reactions, turned to Allen.
“Allen.”
“Yes, Young Master Thomas?”
“You’re good at hunting, right? Catch a deer for us.”
“Are you referring to a white deer?”
In this world, even barons and their families had to live quite frugally. Food was one of the very limited sources of enjoyment in this world. And thanks to Allen catching horned rabbits, the meals this family enjoyed had improved quite significantly. Of all people to make such contributions to their diet, it had been an eight-year-old boy with rare black hair and eyes. Naturally, Allen’s offerings had garnered him quite a lot of attention. By now, every single person in the mansion knew that his father was called “Boar Hunter Rodin” and had been lifted to commoner status in recognition of his contribution as the champion of his village. Everyone took Allen bringing back so many horned rabbits as him having inherited his hunting prowess from his champion father—hence Dudley’s coaxing him to catch big toads and now, Thomas’s demand for a white deer.
“That’s right! Hunt one for us!” Thomas had a carefree smile on his face as if he was making a perfectly normal request.
White deer were monsters that appeared only during wintertime. Because great boars provided more meat, Krena Village’s residents focused solely on them, shifting to hunting white deer only once boar season was over.
Hm, a white deer. It’s a Rank C monster, just like the great boar. My level’s gone up quite a bit these past few months. It might be interesting to give it a go.
“Understood, young master. I shall bring back a white deer.”
Everyone at the table had heard this exchange. However, they were all so astounded that in the end, no one thought to stop Allen.
＊ ＊ ＊
Three days later, it was New Year’s Day. It was another one of his days off, so Allen once again left the mansion early in the day, paying no mind to the snow accumulating on the ground. He was wearing straw-woven boots that he had borrowed the day before.
“You still going out today, lad? Be careful—the snow can get pretty thick some places. Hm? What’s with that?”
Allen, who had a large shovel tied to his back with rope, answered, “I thought I might need it today, so I borrowed it from the gardener.”
The shovel head was wider than thirty centimeters, so it did not fit inside Storage. The two ropes Allen used to secure it to his back had also been borrowed, this time from the stables. He had picked out seven thick and long ropes—the remaining five had gone into Storage.
After promising the guard to be careful, Allen passed through the gate and took off. Dozens of minutes of running through the snow later, he arrived at a spot with trees growing sparsely all around.
Should I hunt goblins in the morning? Hmm...on second thought, hunting the white deer will probably take some time. I should dedicate the entire day to hunting it, just in case. Come on out, Hawkins.
Six Bird E Summons appeared overhead.
I want you to look for a large deerlike monster with white fur. It’s called a white deer. It has antlers longer than two meters on its head, so you should be able to spot it easily. You may go ten kilometers away max, but the closer, the better.
The hawks scattered in all directions.
All right, time for me to get to work too. Moleys, come out and Dig for me.
Four Beast G Summons in the form of moles appeared. In response to Allen’s order, they worked together to push the snow back and dig one large hole.
Ever since learning the Summons had self-awareness, Allen had started making an effort to be much more precise when giving Hawkins instructions. Just now, in addition to the command to look for white deer, he had also told them to prioritize any adventurers in need of help they might find. He had even decided on signs with them, such as landing on a nearby tree branch and crying three times to signify an emergency.
Communication is always key when working with others.
The Summons had a will. In other words, they could very well refuse certain instructions.
But seriously, Summons that are self-aware and can stay out for thirty days without rest, huh? That’s pretty nuts if you think about it objectively.
Back when he had been living in Krena Village, Allen had figured out that regardless of rank, all his Summons could remain Summoned for thirty days straight. They could continue functioning at top performance the entire time, not needing sleep or food. And now, he knew that they could move about of their own will. The realm of possibility had been blown wide open.
When Allen came back from his thoughts, he realized three Hawkins had returned.
Okay, is anyone’s target within one kilometer?
None of the birds came down.
Two kilometers? Three kilometers? Four kilometers? Five kilometers?
Only when Allen reached five kilometers did one of the Bird E Summons react and slowly descend.
Well, five kilometers isn’t too bad.
Because Moleys did not have very high Intelligence, they would stop listening to instructions once Allen got more than fifty meters away. In other words, he had to stay here to continue commanding them to use their Ability. Because of this, he decided to prioritize finishing the hole first. He waited patiently, occasionally using his shovel to gather the displaced dirt into one pile.
It ended up taking quite a bit of time to get the hole as deep as he wanted. During that time, he sent out Hawkins periodically to keep an eye on the target. Thankfully, it did not stray too far beyond the five kilometer mark.
As soon as the hole was finished, Allen obscured it with snow, then set off in the direction of the closest white deer. Thanks to his straw boots, he made good progress even while running on snow. Under the guidance of Hawkins, he soon came upon a monster that was busy feeding on horned rabbit carcasses.
Oh! There it is.
The white deer was slightly smaller than a great boar, but after adding in its neck and head, it still measured roughly three and a half meters in length. Its antlers, which grew out parallel to the ground, were at least two meters long. This was a monster that Allen had seen before back at Krena Village. However, because its white fur served as effective camouflage and this species was not very populous, the village only managed to capture one per winter month, if any at all.
Because the target was Rank C, Allen had prepared four Insect G Summons. He Summoned all of them while hiding behind a tree himself.
Hoppers, use Provoke.
The four frogs obediently started leaping up and down a distance away from the white deer, rapidly flashing various colors.
“NEEIIIGHHHHH!”
The instant the monster noticed the Summons, it promptly charged toward them, plowing through the snow. The Provoke had worked. The split second before they got trampled, Allen reverted the Hoppers into card form and then re-Summoned them a slight distance away, having them use Provoke again right off the bat. By repeating this process, he steadily lured the monster toward the hole he had prepared.
Along the way, Allen found himself impressed by how effective Provoke was. Although he was moving from tree to tree, his black outfit was still conspicuous here in this world of white. Even so, the white deer was so blinded by rage that it did not glance at Allen even for a split second.
Eventually, hunter and prey both reached the place of reckoning. One last time, Allen repositioned the Hoppers and had them use Provoke.
“NEEIIIGHHHHH!”
The white deer continued rushing straight ahead. Then all of a sudden, it disappeared from Allen’s sight.
Hmm, does Intelligence go down when Provoked? To be honest, my pitfall was actually pretty obvious.
Allen looked down into the pit that the white deer had fallen into. It was ten meters deep and two meters wide, but because the deer’s antlers were four meters across, the beast ended up being suspended in midair. Its head was the only thing left visible above ground level.
Before the monster managed to collapse the hole with its struggling, Allen drew his short sword and clambered onto its neck from behind. It bellowed loudly and desperately tried to throw him off, but because its feet were not touching ground, it could not muster any significant strength. Allen gripped his weapon tightly, then reached around and drove it straight into the beast’s neck. He repeated this until blood jetted out, indicating that he had pierced the jugular. The inside of the hole gradually filled with blood, painting a vivid mark of red in stark contrast with the whiteness of the world around them.
When the white deer finally stopped moving, Allen called out his grimoire and looked at the log on its front cover.
<You have defeated 1 white deer. You have earned 2,500 XP.>
Allen dispelled the grimoire and used all his strength to lift his prey back onto the ground. He then dragged it over to a large tree nearby, tied three ropes to each of its hind legs, threw the other ends of the ropes over a firm branch, and hoisted the beast up so that it was now hanging upside down. Gravity did the rest, causing blood to flow profusely from the open wound.
I’ve gotta drain every last bit of blood to make it that much lighter for when I lug it home. Well then, while that’s going, I should get started with cleaning up.
All the displaced dirt from the ten-meter-deep hole went back in, filling it back up.
But damn the XP sure is crap.
Normally, Allen aimed to kill a hundred goblins each time he came out here, amounting to over 20,000 XP. In contrast, by the time the white deer was fully bled, it would already be time to head back. In short, he had spent the entire day and only had 2,500 XP to show for it.
But on the flip side, this one monster alone probably has more than five hundred kilograms of meat. Considering that meat is generally priced at one silver per kilo, that’s five gold in total. I’m gonna make sure I get my due from Sebas.
It would have to be quite a tidy sum to make the day worth his while in exchange for all the XP he could have earned instead. He still had to buy a new weapon and armor, among many other things.
It was already past 4 p.m. by the time the beast was fully drained. Allen slowly lowered the huge carcass back to the ground, then tied its legs flat against its torso so that they would not get in the way on the walk back. He also tied the bulky shovel in together with it for convenience’s sake.
During the wait, Allen had replaced all his Insect G cards with Beast E cards, bringing his Attack to over 300. He shouldered the white deer carcass and stood up with a heave.
Uh-oh, this is actually pretty heavy. I hope I don’t throw out my back. Okay, time to head back to Granvelle City.
Although the monster had already lost all its blood, it still weighed more than eight hundred kilos. Because of Allen’s short stature, the deer’s hind legs still ended up dragging in the snow. Its long neck drooped over his shoulder, similarly dragging its long antlers on the ground. However, he paid all of this no mind, forging ahead through the snow using sheer strength.
Oof, I sure hope I manage to get back before the sun sets.
Because Allen always ran back, he had no idea walking would take this long. He continued inching toward town as the setting sun stained the whiteness of the world madder red. When the city gate finally came into sight, he noticed there was a commotion going on.
“A white deer is coming!”
One of the guards seemed to be shouting at Allen. It was true that when viewed from the side, the white deer carcass completely obscured Allen’s figure. Consequently, it looked like the monster was slowly approaching with its head bowed.
The other guards milled about in a fluster. Allen could not see clearly, but he thought he spotted at least five of them. To curtail the possibility of being turned into an arrow pincushion, he shouted loudly while continuing to draw close.
“Good evening, Mr. Guard!”
“That voice... Is that you, lad?!”
“Yes, sir! May I go through please? I caught this white deer on the orders of House Granvelle.”
Allen continued plowing ahead. He felt someone approach, so he thrust out his crest from underneath the monster. That seemed to have done the trick, as he was allowed through with no further questioning in spite of what he was carrying.
On and on Allen went, now walking over the stone-paved streets of the city. Because the deer’s horns were too wide to pass through the back entrance, he circled around to the front of the mansion instead.
“Good evening!”
“I-Is that you, Allen?” The guard on gate duty was familiar enough with Allen to recognize him by his voice.
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry; the back entrance is too small to pass through. May I come in through the front?”
“R-Right, of course,” the guard replied in a slightly frightened voice.
All right, I gotta first report to Sebas, Allen thought as he continued making his way into the garden.
“AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”
A lady-in-waiting who was looking out into the garden from a second-floor window screamed loudly. Her knees gave way and she pointed a trembling finger toward the window, prompting other servants to look out as well. The commotion grew larger and larger by the minute.
“A monster’s gotten onto the premise!”
“Gentlemen-in-waiting, grab your weapons! Someone, call the knights!”
Oh, that’s not good. They’re panicking.
Allen thought he would be able to explain the situation away, but the servants filing out of the mansion were starting to arm themselves. So, he dropped the white deer in a fluster so that they could see his figure clearly.
Boooooom.
The monster was so heavy that the moment it hit the ground, a tremor rumbled through the ground and blew snow away. Both those looking on from the second floor and those who had exited the mansion froze with shock, with some even falling on their rear ends. Most of them had never seen a monster up close in their life, and now a huge, white beast had seemingly walked into the grounds. The next thing they knew, however, it had transformed into Allen’s form. Their minds scrambled to comprehend what they were seeing.
Ugh, that was really heavy. I guess my level is still a bit too low to carry something like that by myself.
Sebas pushed through the crowd to confirm the situation for himself. “I-Is that you, Allen?”
“Yes, sir, it’s me. I’ve just returned. Young Master Thomas told me to hunt a white deer, so here it is.” To avoid being held responsible for the commotion, Allen immediately brought out Thomas’s name front and center to leave the impression that he was simply following orders.
The butler started when he recalled the exchange at dinner several nights ago. No one present had taken the conversation seriously, himself included. However, it was true that Allen had firmly declared that he would indeed bring a white deer back.
At almost sixty years of age, very little surprised Sebas anymore. However, ever since Allen came to the mansion, he felt as if the perception of normalcy that he had built up over his entire life was slowly but surely being eroded away. He struggled to remain upright despite feeling his common sense crumble internally.
“What is the commotion about?!” Baron Granvelle roared as he came outside. When he got a good view outside, however, his words died in his throat. “Th-That’s a...”
“The hell y’all just standin’ around for, eh?!” Dudley, the head chef, bellowed roughly while emerging from the first-floor kitchen. It was time for dinner, and yet no one had come to pick up the dishes. He had gotten tired of waiting and decided to come out himself. When he saw the beast on the ground, however, the look of irritation on his face immediately melted into one of delight. It was his first time seeing an entire white deer in person. He approached it all atremble. “A-A white deer!”
“Yes, Mr. Dudley,” Allen replied. “I’ve only been able to bleed it. I haven’t done anything else yet.”
“I see! So you’ve done the bare minimum! Good! Now we need to remove its organs.”
In the chef’s eyes, this terrifying beast was merely another ingredient for his cutting board. This situation did not faze him in the slightest.
“VANS! What’re ya just standin’ around for?! Get yer ass over here! The rest of y’all, keep preparin’ for dinner!”
Dudley called his assistant Vans over and ordered someone to fetch a large butchering saw and a magical tool to provide illumination. He intended on doing the butchering right here, handling the task personally while leaving the rest of the preparations for dinner to the other chefs and servants.
“I’ll help, Mr. Dudley. Since the white deer is heavy.”
“Oh? Ya sure?”
“Of course, sir.”
Allen’s offer was not purely out of the kindness of his heart—he still had to retrieve the monster’s magic stone. He had similarly taken out the magic stones from all the horned rabbits that he had handed over so far. He was willing to part with the meat, as this was a promise with Thomas, but the magic stone was his. In the middle of following Dudley’s instructions to raise this leg, support this part, keep that part open, and everything else, he surreptitiously took out the magic stone and threw it into Storage.
As the gardener watched his carefully tended garden ruined with blood and viscera in dismay, Baron Granvelle turned to Sebas. “What is the meaning of this? Why didn’t you look into Allen’s background?!”
“What?! Master, you were the one who told me there was no need to dig any further after we learned he has no Talent and very low stats! As you commanded, I did not investigate any further!”
“Have you gone senile?! Look at that! An eight-year-old boy just brought back a Rank C monster by himself! How could he be Talentless?! I want to know every last detail about him!”
“O-Of course, Master. When the very next envoy from Krena Village arriv—”
The baron’s hawklike eyes narrowed.
“My apologies, Master. I will dispatch a man to Krena Village tomorrow.”
Sending someone to Krena Village took ten days round trip and to do so now would cost much more than usual due to all the snow. As the one managing the mansion’s finances, Sebas very much preferred conducting the investigation on the side of normal communications between the mansion and the village. It would not be long before the next shipment of great boar meat was due; when it arrived, he could simply ask the villager who was accompanying the delivery. However, that was apparently not enough for Baron Granvelle.
Cecil watched her father and the butler exchanging heated words with an exasperated face from a window on the second floor. Dinner was the last thing on everyone’s minds now.
Thomas, the one who had been the cause of all this, dashed out of the mansion. “IT’S A DEEEEEER!” he whooped. He tried to touch the monster, but his assigned maidservant desperately held him back.
Noticing his approach, Allen walked over and bowed respectfully. “Young Master Thomas, I have brought back a white deer as you asked.”
“Thank you!”
This incident was what prompted the baron to launch a full-scale investigation into Allen’s past.
＊ ＊ ＊
Despite working late into the night, Dudley and Allen were forced to suspend their work after only managing to skin the beast and remove its organs due to the sheer size of the white deer. Thankfully, it was currently winter, and the cold helped prevent the meat from spoiling so easily. They were to continue the following day.
Dudley had requested that Sebas excuse Allen from attending Cecil for the day so he could focus solely on the butchering, making the case that the boy had a deft hand and was a quick learner. Well, it had been more like a declaration, but that was just the head chef’s way of asking for things.
“You really are good at this, Allen. You should stop bein’ Young Miss’s manservant and be a chef instead. Want me to speak to Sebas for ya?”
Dudley still referred to Sebas without his title despite being lower in rank.
“Th-Thank you, sir, but Young Lady Cecil has been good to me so far.”
“We talkin’ about the same Young Lady?”
Being Cecil’s manservant was not easy, but it did come with opportunities to go out into town, plus free time during her lessons. These were way better terms than working as a chef.
“That aside, lad, you really pick things up quick. Vans takes ages to learn even the smallest things.”
Ah, that’s probably due to Intelligence.
Allen had noticed himself picking things up much faster as of late, and this applied to his work as a server as well. Every time he leveled up, the feeling became all the more obvious. The ease with which he could now remember things was beyond comparison to his life as Kenichi. He could memorize anything now, and his body would naturally move the way he wanted. That said, this did not mean he was getting cleverer. Just as before, he had to think hard for ideas. It was not the same as becoming a brilliant genius.
Man, the white deer sure was heavy yesterday. I guess Summoner is a support class in the first place.
Due to being a Summoner, Allen’s Intelligence stat was ranked at “S”—presumably the highest possible ranking—but his Attack was only a paltry “C.” As someone who threw iron balls and used a sword during fights, instead of having such lopsided stats, he would have preferred having all his stats ranked at “A” instead.
Allen’s hand moved deftly and surely even when he was deep in thought. In the end, that day’s butchering also lasted until quite late in the evening. Once he returned indoors, he was told that Sebas wanted to see him in his room again.
I sure am getting summoned a lot lately, Allen thought as he knocked on the butler’s door. “Excuse me, sir. It’s me, Allen.”
“Come in.”
Allen walked in and was gestured toward the usual sofa.
“Sorry you had to work late yesterday even though it was your day off.”
Oh? I actually got an apology.
“It was no problem at all, sir.” After all, I hunted the white deer on my own volition, and I was helping out until late in the night because I wanted to get the magic stone. “May I ask why I was called today?”
“Before anything else, here you go.” Sebas placed a heavy-looking pouch on the table between him and Allen.
“What is this, sir?”
“A hundred silver.”
Huh? So I’m only getting a hundred silver for the white deer?
On top of having more than five hundred kilograms of edible meat, the beast’s fur had remained largely undamaged and therefore should have been able to fetch a rather sizable sum. In short, the beast was worth way more than a hundred silver.
“That’s your salary for the month.”
WHAT?! My salary is fifty silver, which means I’m technically only getting fifty silver for the deer?! I sure as hell ain’t doing that again! I pretty much just lost the entire off day! Talk about a crap deal!
A sigh naturally escaped Allen’s mouth as a look of disappointment painted his face.
“Allen, you have a habit of letting your emotions show on your face. Don’t misunderstand: that is your salary going forward.”
“I’m sorry, sir?”
“You’re diligent and take things seriously. However, that is not the reason we’re raising your salary.”
The full salary of a manservant was a hundred silver, but Allen could only receive half of the amount until he turned twelve. If this increase in salary was not a reward for his good work, then it could only mean...
“You want me to do something else for the extra fifty silver?”
“You do catch on quick. That’s correct. We want you to also be a huntsman.”
“What’s a huntsman, sir?”
The role of “gamekeeper” from medieval English aristocratic society came to Allen’s mind. Back then, the gamekeeper was in charge of rearing the game that his master would hunt as well as protecting the game population from being poached by the common people.
“You like hunting, do you not, Allen?”
Without missing a beat, Allen replied, “I love it, sir.”
“A huntsman is...”
According to Sebas’s explanation, in this world, a huntsman’s main duties were also twofold: hunting monsters to bring back their meat and protecting people who were being assaulted by monsters outside of the city. A higher-tiered noble, such as a count, might have several huntsmen in his service, but the Granvelle family had never had one before.
“That sounds amazing!” Allen could not help but raise his voice in delight. In other words, he was being asked to be a noble’s employed hunter.
“The other servants also strongly support this idea.”
“Huh?”
After a brief conflicted moment, Sebas revealed that over the past few days, more than half the servants had knocked on his door begging him to let Allen do more hunting. Even before he had brought home the white deer, the way he consistently brought back five horned rabbits every time he had a day off was more than enough of a testament to his skill as a hunter.
It was true that the staff’s meals improved a little in quality every time Allen came back with horned rabbits, but it was honestly only by a little. The more he was allowed to hunt, the more meat there would be to go around. Some people even went so far as to say that it would be much more beneficial for the household as a whole to redirect the time Allen spent looking after Cecil and doing odd jobs for her toward hunting instead. Sebas had found himself dogged by pretty much the same request again and again.
“And that is why we’re offering you this position. To be frank with you, part of this is also due to the state of this house’s budget. I confess I did not expect you to actually bring a white deer back, but it does help to illustrate my point.”
Naturally, it would cost much less paying Allen fifty silvers extra each month instead of buying whatever monster he brought back at full price every time. Case in point, a single white deer normally went for several gold. House Granvelle’s budget was extremely tight at the moment—this had been obvious from the moment it was mentioned that the coming New Year’s Greeting would have to be significantly scaled down.
“Thank you for the explanation, sir. I will be glad to take on the role of huntsman for fifty silver extra each month. Do I start tomorrow?”
Honestly, if I get to go out every day, I don’t even need the raise. As long as I bring five horned rabbits back, I can spend the rest of every day hunting goblins from morning to dusk! Oh no, I think I’m starting to drool.
Seeing Allen gleefully agree to the role, the butler said, “Just to make it clear, I’m asking you to ‘also’ be a huntsman.”
“By which you mean...?”
“Naturally, you will still continue serving Young Lady Cecil and serving at dinner. Your work as a huntsman is only for one day each week.”
“WHAT?!”
In other words, Allen’s one day of hunting each week had only become two days.
“Are you dissatisfied? We can always pretend this conversation never happened.”
“Wha—?! Please, no! I...I’ll be happy to do it.”
“Don’t be so down, Allen. You learn things and improve quickly. If you continue serving Young Lady Cecil, you just might become a gentleman-in-waiting one day. You would want to keep your options open, yes?”
The path of promotion for a manservant was gentleman-in-waiting. Sebas, who could tell that Allen would much rather abandon his duties as a manservant to go hunting every day, was reminding him to take a more levelheaded and balanced perspective.
“Ugh...”
“So then, what do you think? Will you be willing to take on huntsman duties one day each week?”
“Y-Yes, sir. Thank you very much for considering my future.”
Two months after beginning to serve at the Granvelle mansion, Allen ended up taking on three roles: manservant, server, and huntsman.
Chapter 4: First Meeting with Mihai
The year turned and it was now early March, when sunlight fell soft and gently across the land. Allen was currently riding in a carriage. Upon becoming a huntsman at the end of the previous year, he had received permission to go hunting two days every week. Thanks to this, he had made plenty of progress hunting goblins and was now Lvl. 19. He needed more XP than ever to level up, but he also had more time to hunt, so his leveling was still going rather smoothly.
The large New Year’s event held at the start of the year for all the most influential people of the city had ended up being an extremely grand affair thanks to the white deer Allen had brought back. After that, he had continued hunting one white deer each month. Before, he had only been able to bring back horned rabbits, but things were entirely different now that he was officially a huntsman. He had the leeway to think about providing the house with a greater variety of meat, with white deer as one part of those considerations.
Last month, when he had returned with his third white deer, he found a large plank in the garden. The gardener firmly instructed him to place any game he was going to bring back on the plank from now on. Apparently it was tough work restoring the lawn from the tremor that generated each time Allen lowered a one-ton beast onto the ground. That, and because the garden kept getting drenched with blood and other viscera during the butchering process. Thus, the plank.
Now that it was March, the days were starting to warm back up, and edible monsters besides horned rabbits and white deer were starting to appear. Allen planned on looking for new targets among the newly awakened monsters starting this month.
“Allen, you aren’t falling asleep on me, are you?!” Cecil suddenly said, kicking Allen’s shin from her seat across from his.
Ow, that hurt. Looks like I fell asleep in the middle of thinking about what I’ll hunt next time. I blame the warm sun. But wow, so people don’t sleep while riding carriages in this world. Different land, different customs and all that, huh?
Clearly, Allen was not very aware of his identity as a manservant.
“My apologies, Young Lady Cecil.”
“If you act like that in front of Mihai, I’m going to make you regret it!”
Cecil’s crimson slanted eyes glared at Allen. The carriage they were riding was currently heading to the landing pad east of Granvelle City where a magic ship was scheduled to arrive from Academy City. Mihai, Baron Granvelle’s eldest child, was riding on that ship, and Cecil was on her way to pick him up.
Allen sometimes found himself ordered to come along on Cecil’s outings such as these. Shopping trips he could understand, as she needed an extra pair of hands to carry her things, but there were some trips for which he honestly could not understand why she brought him along. Perhaps Cecil was at the age when she wanted to go around with an entourage.
Because the landing pad needed to accommodate magic ships that measured more than a hundred meters in length, the vast majority of the grounds were basically a flat, expansive area with nothing on it, just like the airports in Allen’s previous life. After Cecil’s party waited around for thirty minutes, a dot appeared in the sky, gradually growing in size.
“Wow!”
Eventually, the giant form of the magic ship roared over Allen’s and Cecil’s heads. After hovering a short while directly over the landing pad, it came straight down.
What an incredible sight. How is it flying? Lift? Magic?
The body of the vessel resembled a short, stout hamster that was hunched over. As Allen watched on in wonderment, what looked like a flight of stairs extended from the cabin at the bottom part of the magic ship.
It all looks so high tech. So, this world’s actually quite technologically advanced.
Allen’s everyday living conditions were closer to the standards of the undeveloped Middle Ages. In contrast, this incredible magic tool before his eyes looked so sophisticated it was practically an anachronism.
Cecil, who apparently adored her eldest brother, stood restlessly next to Allen as passengers slowly filed out of the magic ship. Soon enough, a boy with hair the same shade of purple as hers waved in their direction and started walking over, bulky luggage in hand. This was Mihai.
“Hey there, Cecil. How’ve you been?”
“W-Welcome back, Mihai! I’ve been doing wonderfully.”
It’s always great to see siblings getting along well with each other. Mihai started attending school last year, which means he must be thirteen or fourteen now. He’s got a kind of mature vibe, though. Do children just grow up faster in this world?
Mash and Myulla came to Allen’s mind as he watched the reunion between brother and sister. After the two finished greeting each other, they headed back to the carriage. Allen picked up all the luggage and got on after them.
“Hm? Are you the new servant?” Mihai asked.
“Yes, Young Master,” Allen replied smoothly. “I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve House Granvelle as of last autumn. My name is Allen.”
“Allen’s my manservant,” Cecil added.
“I see, so father has already given permission. Allen, as you said, this is an opportunity. Make the most of it.”
“O-Of course, Young Master.”
There was no way Allen could say no in this situation.
When Mihai mentioned their father giving permission, he was talking about how Baron Granvelle had allowed Cecil, who was still only eight, to have a personal servant. Her second brother, Thomas, was still being tended to by the common maidservants.
Allen had not asked, but Rickel had nevertheless told him about the relationship between man- and maidservants and the children of noble families. When he heard the details, Allen had thought it sounded like a nightmare.
When a noble child turned ten, he or she would gain a personal attendant—either of their own or their parents’ choosing. This servant would normally be around twelve years old and serve the noble child for the rest of their lives, gradually gaining experience on the job. This was generally a good thing, as it meant they would be set for life. Once these servants turned fifteen, they would then be promoted to gentleman- or lady-in-waiting, with a possibility of eventually becoming even a butler or a knight further in the future.
Conversely, a man- or maidservant who did not get personally selected for service by a member of the noble family could not become a gentleman- or lady-in-waiting. In order to be chosen, lower servants would spend several years dedicating themselves to odd jobs, serving the noble family’s children in hopes of earning the child’s trust. Rickel, who had already turned eighteen, admitted that the opportunity had already passed him by.
A man- or maidservant who became a chef or stable hand could never become a gentleman- or lady-in-waiting. Basically, once someone entered a specialized trade, their only path of promotion would be within that line of work.
Allen, who had already been accepted as Cecil’s personal manservant, was stuck having to serve Cecil for the rest of his life. As it turned out, he had unknowingly gotten onto an elevator he never should have. He had no idea how to get off, but he had to find a way somehow.
“Your name is Allen, right? Are you just that exceptional?” Mihai studied Allen with the same crimson eyes that Cecil possessed.
“I am here only because of Young Lady Cecil’s magnanimity.”
“I see.”
“That’s enough about Allen, right?” Cecil cut in as if vying for Mihai’s attention.
“Ah, that’s right, Cecil. I bought you souvenirs from the royal capital.”
Mihai dug through his luggage to find a shiny hair clip in the shape of a butterfly and presented it to Cecil.
“Oh my! Thank you so much!”
Cecil delightedly accepted the gift with both hands, gazing at it with enchanted eyes while slowly changing the angle at which it reflected the sun.
“I’m glad you like it. I’m sorry I couldn’t come back home during the summer holidays.”
Ah, so the souvenir is also meant as a peace offering.
“That’s right, you didn’t come home! Didn’t you say you have a long summer holiday and that you’d be able to rest all you wanted at home?”
“That’s what I thought, but then I was told I had to clear a dungeon during the break or I’d be expelled.”
He said “dungeon”! Clearing a dungeon is a must for staying in school?! That’s incredible!
“Oh my! Please tell me all about it!” Cecil’s eyes sparkled. She had always dreamed of attending the Academy.
According to Mihai, the summer holiday lasted all of August and September. Students were generally allowed to do whatever they wanted during that time, but it was a must to clear at least one of the many dungeons within Academy City. Mihai’s teacher had even said, “If you can’t clear a single one, this school doesn’t need you. Go home.” In those exact words.
“My! What an attitude to take! Is he allowed to do that?”
Mihai was the heir apparent of a baron family. And presumably, there were other students at the school who were children of even more important nobles. Cecil was astonished to hear the teacher sounding so blasé about expelling students of such high social standing.
“Of course. After all, it’s a policy decided by the headmaster.”
Apparently, Academy City had the authority and standing to ignore even the orders of the royal family. Allen recalled Baron Granvelle mentioning how the school would reject Krena’s admission if she failed the entrance exam. Clearly this was a body with very high autonomy.
“That sounds like such an ordeal.” Cecil was worried for Mihai upon hearing how strict life was at school.
“Well, the standards are high, but it also comes with great opportunities. Sword Lord Dverg visited my class once and gave me pointers in person!”
The memory made Mihai so happy that he unconsciously reached over to touch the sword he had taken off and propped up by his side.
Hey, I recognize that name. I see, so Sword Lord Dverg teaches at Academy City.
Mihai continued to tell stories about his life at school, his eyes shining excitedly. He had seemed rather mature earlier on, but once he got talking, he reverted to being a normal boy his age. He and Cecil talked nonstop until the carriage reached home.
＊ ＊ ＊
By mid-March, monsters started to get active, many of which were actually edible. On the first day of hunting since Mihai’s return, Allen managed to finish his quota of a hundred goblins by three in the afternoon. On his way back, he had two sticks on his left shoulder—one strung with five horned rabbits, the other with the big toad that Dudley had asked for.
I’ve got my horned rabbits and big toad. Hawkins, there should be birds running on the ground called rowdy chicken nearby. Find me the closest one; I don’t mind if it’s a whole flock.
Allen was not one to waste even the time on the return journey. After he gave his instructions, four Bird Es—he had recently reduced the number he employed for scouting from six to four—flew off.
Wow, you already found some?
One Hawkins found a rowdy chicken soon after. Allen took off while still shouldering the prey he had already caught. Less than a kilometer away, he did indeed happen upon a super muscular chicken strutting on the ground.
Take this!
After lowering his luggage to the ground, Allen threw an iron ball with all his might. The monster took the ball to the head and fell dead on the spot. Now that he was Lvl. 19, he could kill the large majority of Rank D monsters with a single attack.
Hm, this should be enough for today. Is it about time to consider hunting further in?
Allen slit the chicken’s neck with his short sword. While waiting for it to bleed out, he sat in thought. According to what he had heard, lots of Rank C monsters lived close to the White Dragon Mountains. Naturally, they yielded more XP than Rank D monsters did.
But it’d be a waste of magic stones if my Tamas keep getting done in. And I’m already hunting in an area mainly occupied by Rank D monsters.
Allen killed the beasts he brought back for food using his iron balls, but naturally called on his Beast E Summons to kill goblins and other inedible monsters. It was much faster and more efficient doing it this way, as he could Summon them anywhere he wanted within a fifty-meter radius.
You know what? I’ll first focus on leveling Strengthening up. Then I’ll try challenging myself against Rank C monsters.
Back when he lived in Krena Village and had very limited opportunity to hunt, he had raised all three skills related to Summoning at an equal rate. That was the fastest way to get Summoning up and unlock new Summons that would give him greater stat buffs.
Now, however, the amount of Skill XP he needed to continue leveling Summoning up was simply astronomical. In contrast, it was much easier to raise his own level, which had remained relatively untouched until recently. By prioritizing the Strengthening skill, he could use his Summons to hunt monsters with greater efficiency.
Currently, Rank E Summons were so weak they could be killed even by goblins. If Allen went deep enough to where Rank C monsters roamed, he would definitely end up burning through his Rank E magic stones. After deciding to first reach Strengthening Lvl. 5 before going looking for Rank C monsters, Allen checked on the rowdy chicken and found it completely drained. He then ran back to Granvelle City with three poles bearing his catches over his shoulder.
Until a while ago, the jaws of the guards on duty would drop when they saw Allen approaching the gate with so many monsters on his back. Now, however, they had grown completely used to it and allowed him to pass straight through. He made good progress through the nobles’ residence quarter, heading for the Granvelle mansion. Because of how narrow the mansion’s rear entrance was, he would enter from the front whenever he had a large catch. Today was one of those days. Cecil had told him to bring a lot back to celebrate Mihai’s return because she loved her eldest brother very much.
Heeding the gardener’s instructions, Allen lowered his catches onto the designated plank in the garden.
Clang! Clang!
Suddenly, Allen’s ears registered the sound of swords clashing. He looked up and saw Mihai and the knight captain sparring, with the baron, baroness, Thomas, and Cecil all watching on. Apparently, everyone was here to see how much stronger Mihai had grown in his time away. As Allen continued watching, memories of his time playing knight with Krena surfaced within his mind. He was so captured by the sight that he forgot to go tell Dudley he was back.
Wow, Mihai’s pretty strong! And this is my first time seeing Zenof in action.
“All right, this will do. Young Master Mihai, you have truly improved.”
Mihai looked quite happy with the praise. “Thank you, Captain Zenof. That said, aren’t I old enough to not be called ‘Young Master’ anymore?”
All the spectators burst into laughter.
It was now past 5 p.m., the time of the day when the kitchen was the busiest. Dudley always told Allen to come back earlier, but every time, he could only smile and vaguely promise to “do his best.” Because Allen had to meet his goblin-hunting quota, he always ended up returning at around this time.
“Oh, you’re back, Allen! Incredible, you brought back so much today!”
Cecil, who noticed Allen with his catches at the butchering area in the garden, called out to him. He looked in her direction, inadvertently thinking about how long it was since she last praised him. Everyone else also directed their attention toward him.
“I have just returned, milady,” Allen replied with a brief bow before turning to head indoors. He had to fetch Dudley so that they could butcher the game he had brought back.
Mihai looked at the carcasses on the ground, then at Allen directly. “I’m impressed, Allen. That’s quite the catch. Would you be interested in a round with me?”
What? Me?
As Allen stood in place, unsure how to answer, Zenof held out his own sword in an obvious prompt for him to accept Mihai’s offer.
Wow, a mithril sword! I guess that’s a knight captain for you! This looks awesome. Oh, right, the match. My card distribution is geared for hunting right now. Would it do?
Just in case, Allen double-checked his current Status.
Name: Allen
Age: 8
Class: Summoner
Level: 20
HP: 412 (515) + 130
MP: 30 (780) + 200
Attack: 220 (276) + 130
Endurance: 220 (276) + 20
Agility: 415 (519) + 60
Intelligence: 600 (750) + 40
Luck: 415 (519) + 200
Skills: Summoning {4}, Creation {4}, Synthesis {4}, Strengthening {4}, Expansion {3}, Storage, Deletion, Sword Mastery {3}, Throwing {3}
XP: 126,470/200,000
Skill Levels
Summoning: 4
Creation: 4
Synthesis: 4
Strengthening: 4
Skill Experience
Creation: 94,730/1,000,000
Synthesis: 96,610/1,000,000
Strengthening: 310,560/1,000,000
Creatable Summons
Insect: E, F, G, H
Beast: E, F, G,
Bird: E, F, G
Grass: E, F
Stone: E
Holder
Insect: F x 2, E x 1
Beast: E x 13
Bird: E x 4
Grass: E x 20
Stone:
Allen took his short sword off his waist and propped it against a nearby wall so that it would not get in his way. Ever since having officially become a huntsman, he had been allowed to walk around armed and therefore had reverted to wearing his weapon around everywhere instead of keeping it inside Storage. He tightened his grip on Zenof’s mithril sword and walked up to stand across from Mihai a slight distance away.
As everyone looked on, the baroness clasped her hands before her chest and exclaimed, “Oh my, what if Mihai gets hurt?” Her son was facing someone who had managed to bring a Rank C monster back alone. Her worries were understandable.
Instead of answering her, however, Zenof simply said, “Both sides, ready?”
Allen and Mihai both lifted their weapons.
“FIGHT!”
Allen, whose Agility was over 400, immediately closed in on Mihai. A loud clang rang out as both swords clashed.
Huh? Wait, he’s... He’s actually pretty strong! Seriously?!
Allen noticed that something was off almost immediately. Mihai’s strikes were actually heavy, and he also had the upper hand in speed. Realizing that he did not need to go easy on his opponent, Allen grabbed his sword with both hands in order to bring it down with every last drop of his 370 Attack.
Dammit, he blocked me with a single hand?!
Mihai looked unfazed while blocking Allen’s full-powered swing. After this, Allen remained on the back foot.
“Madam, please rest assured,” Zenof suddenly said, addressing the baroness.
“About what?”
“In less than a year, Young Master Mihai cleared the assignment that Academy City assigns all students. It is simply impossible for him to lose against someone who has yet to attend.”
The moment Zenof made his declaration, Allen’s sword was smacked out of his hand and he found the tip of Mihai’s sword at his throat.
*
“I surrender,” Allen admitted, prompting Mihai to withdraw and sheathe his weapon.
“You really are incredible, Allen,” Mihai smiled. “Now I understand why you were made personal manservant despite your age.”
“And yet I fall far short in comparison to you, Young Master. Thank you very much for the favor of this match.” Allen bowed deeply.
I mean, damn, he’s really strong. I couldn’t lift a finger. Hm, is this because he cleared a dungeon for his summer break assignment? That must have helped him level up a lot. So this is the strength of someone with a Talent who properly got his level up. And he did this in a year—rather, it might have been only in the two months he went dungeon delving.
Those under Normal Mode leveled up a hundred times faster than those in Hell Mode. In spite of all the hunting he had done, Allen was still no match for Mihai.
“No less from Cecil’s personal manservant. Make sure you take care of my sister, Allen.”
“Y-Yes, Young Master.”
Mihai offered a handshake, and Allen accepted it. In this way, Allen’s very first fight with a Talented person in Normal Mode ended with his complete defeat.
＊ ＊ ＊
Spring break ended along with the month of March, and it was now early April. Mihai had boarded a magic ship and headed back to Academy City.
Allen valued the match with him very much, as it allowed him to directly experience the difference in growth between Normal Mode and Hell Mode. In light of that, Allen had asked him for another match when he came home again next spring. He thought these fights could serve as a regular way to confirm his own strength.
“Good morning, Mr. Rickel.”
“Good morning to you too.”
As always, Allen had woken up, groomed himself, and gone down to the servants’ dining hall. He grabbed the seat across from Rickel, the head manservant, and greeted him. Almost half a year had passed since Allen came to work at the Granvelle mansion, and there was a marked difference from back then: a meat dish was now added to everyone’s breakfast in addition to the previous menu of only soup and bread. The extra dish even used different meat from what was inside the soup. After becoming a huntsman at the end of the previous year, Allen had started bringing back meat two days each week without fail. Thanks to his efforts, the diet of everyone in the mansion, from the baron’s family all the way to the lowest servant, had seen drastic improvement. Seeing young Thomas heartily chow down always brought a warm smile to Allen’s face, due to his previous life as a thirty-five-year-old man.
Rickel suddenly said, “Keep your wits about you tonight, Allen.”
“Are you referring to Viscount Carnel coming for dinner?”
“That’s right. Can’t imagine what our neighbor is coming over for, but it can’t be for anything good. Don’t treat him too well—do only your minimum best when serving him.”
The Granvelle house had been told that the viscount was coming only a few days ago. In the scheme of how nobles usually went about these things, this was considered very short notice.
Up till now, Allen had had the opportunity to interact with a large number of guests through his work as a server. The vast majority of them had been influential people here in Granvelle City, such as the local guildmasters of the Adventurer’s and Merchant’s Guilds and the owner of a high-class inn. Once in a while, this would even be nobles coming over from the royal capital. Thanks to the magic ships, travel between Granvelle City and the royal capital turned out to be much easier than Allen had previously imagined.
“He even made a magic ship wait for him.”
Of course, there were other routes besides the Granvelle City-royal capital one. There was one connecting the royal capital with the capital of the Carnel fiefdom too, which was located right next to the Granvelle fiefdom, separated by the White Dragon Mountains. And of course, there were established flights connecting fiefdom capitals with each other. According to Rickel, Viscount Carnel had adjusted the schedule of a ship on the royal capital-Carnel City route for the sake of his own return this time. Then he got onto a Granvelle-Carnel magic ship, which needed to make a large detour to the north to circumvent the northern edge of the mountain range.
＊ ＊ ＊
Viscount Carnel arrived in the afternoon. After the viscount was guided to the dining hall on the second floor, Allen moved into position to serve him. The viscount was in his late thirties and had a long face with a rather wide forehead. He gave off a dazzling impression, but this was not because of his forehead—rather, it was because he was wearing a sparkly, ostentatious outfit. Someone who appeared to be his butler was standing behind his seat. Whereas at least one or two other members of the baron’s family would usually be in attendance whenever a guest came, the baron was alone this time.
“Welcome, Viscount Carnel. I heard you went to a lot of trouble for this visit.”
Although Baron Granvelle’s voice was warm, his smile did not reach his eyes. The two men were sitting at opposite ends of a rather long table.
“Oh, it’s nothing you need worry about. My capital’s always so clamorous, probably because it’s thriving so much! Coming to a place like this every once in a while does me good.”
“Is that so! I’m glad to hear it. Ha ha ha!”
The baron chose to let the viscount’s sarcasm slide.
If I remember correctly, these two families have been at odds for generations now.
Allen continued serving, making sure not to meet Viscount Carnel’s eyes. He had heard that one large reason these two neighboring realms were so antagonistic to each other was the White Dragon Mountains Range that separated them. There were veins of mithril deposits in the mountains, and both realms held the mining rights for their own side. The ore was bountiful on both sides; however, because the white dragon currently resided on the baron’s side, only the viscount could mine the mithril. Carnel was flourishing thanks to this mining while Granvelle was barely scraping by with agriculture.
However, that was only the current state of affairs. This relationship between the two fiefdoms would flip every so often, as the white dragon would move to the other side every one or two hundred years. This very thing had occurred over a century ago; back then, it was Granvelle that prospered from mining mithril. Even now, there were four mines on the baron’s side of the White Dragon Mountains that were supposed to still look the way they did back then.
Because of the white dragon’s capricious movements, the Granvelle and Carnel families were constantly in a state where one side envied the other. According to Rickel, the current generation viscount had a particularly nasty personality and constantly sought out ways to harass Baron Granvelle.
Allen carried a dish of horned rabbit to Viscount Carnel. The kitchen now had much better meat available, which meant the horned rabbit had been someone’s conscious choice.
“Hm? Is this great boar meat?”
The baron’s face twitched once before he replied vaguely, “Well, we do have skilled hunters in our realm.”
“Ah, I was correct!” Viscount Carnel smirked. “So this is the meat that you were concealing.”
“Wh—?! I have no idea what you are talking about. I have concealed nothing.”
I can see the baron’s doing his best to rein in his anger. It was this viscount’s fault that we ended up having to hunt more great boars, right?
Before the viscount’s arrival, Allen had heard quite a lot about him from Rickel. Supposedly, during an audience with the king, Viscount Carnel had reported, “There is a fiefdom with gains that it is not reporting.” When the king asked which one it was, Viscount Carnel had pointed the finger at Baron Granvelle and said, “Despite his realm regularly producing a large amount of great boar meat, Lord Granvelle has yet to report this to the royal family. He is concealing his profits, which counts as an act of treason!” The baron, who had indeed been amiss in reporting the great boars, was left in a very precarious position during the audience.
Allen recalled how the baron had been shaking with rage from the memory during the feast held in his honor at Krena Village.
“So, what is the reason for your visit today?” the baron asked in an effort to hurry the conversation so that he could kick the other man out as soon as possible.
“Oh right! This boar meat is so delicious I totally forgot! Ha ha ha!”
“I’m glad to hear it. Well? Why are you here?”
The baron once again refused to rise to the provocative sarcasm.
“I came here to tell you that my youngest daughter just underwent her Appraisal Ceremony the other day and was confirmed to be Talentless.”
“What?”
Oh right, the Ceremony takes place in April. We had it in mid-April in Krena Village, but I guess nobles have theirs slightly earlier? Which means, in less than ten days, Mash will also get Appraised. Aww, I really wanted to be there for him and see what he gets. Should I send a letter to ask? Oh wait, no, my parents don’t know how to read and write.
Every year in April, all children who had reached five years of age within the past year—everyone from royalty to serfs—had to undergo the Appraisal Ceremony. Viscount Carnel bringing it up prompted Allen to remember his younger brother Mash, who was also supposed to take it this year.
I see, so the viscount’s daughter is Talentless. Hold on. But he sounded happy about it.
“I see,” the baron said simply with a disinterested “So what?” look.
“Another one of my children turned out to have a Talent, so I was worried for my youngest daughter. But it turns out that she’s Talentless! What a relief, eh?”
“Good for you.”
The baron’s face was growing increasingly fierce, his eyes looking more and more like those of a hawk’s.
“My heart goes out to you, Lord Granvelle. You have three children and two of them have Talents.”
The viscount was clearly referring to Mihai, who was currently in Academy City, and Cecil, who was a Wizardess.
“Well, all they have to do is fulfill their noble duty!” Anger finally crept into the baron’s voice.
What’s going on? Us serfs and commoners are super happy about having Talents, but it’s a bad thing for nobles? What’s that about fulfilling a “noble duty”? Is there something they have to do? Or is the Academy’s tuition really high? Nobles really are different from commoners and serfs. How strange.
The moment it was announced that Dogora had the Ax User Talent, his father had immediately bear-hugged him out of sheer joy. The same had been true of Pelomas and his father Deboji. Rodin had also strongly wished for Allen to have a Talent. In contrast, Viscount Carnel had gone to the trouble of riding a magic ship to come all the way here just to brag about his child being Talentless. Clearly, nobles and non-nobles viewed Talents in very different ways.
In the end, that really was the only thing Viscount Carnel wanted to say. He soon left in very high spirits.
Chapter 5: Rank C Monsters
It was now the end of September, about half a year since Viscount Carnel’s visit. Today was Allen’s day off. He would normally be busy chasing monsters outside the city at this time, but today was different. Today, he was going to use the money he had saved up over ten months to buy something.
At the end of April, Sebas had called Allen to his room and told him that Mash had been pronounced a Spear User at his Appraisal Ceremony. Whereas the viscount had been glad that his daughter had been Talentless, Allen was over the moon hearing that his younger brother had a Talent. Apparently, the butler had asked the envoy from Krena Village to convey the message that Allen was doing well in Granvelle City when he returned home. When Allen heard this, he had thanked Sebas from the bottom of his heart.
Now, just as Allen was heading to the square in the middle of the city, he heard someone calling out to him.
“Hey there! Fancy bumping into you!”
“Ah, good morning, mister.”
It turned out to be a merchant that Allen had saved outside of town before. Nowadays, whenever Allen walked around the city, he would get recognized every now and again.
“Thank you again for saving my life back then.”
“I’m simply relieved to see you healthy and well, mister.”
The man lowered his head deeply. Naturally, a full-grown adult bowing to a child in the middle of the street drew attention.
After becoming a huntsman, Allen had saved quite a few merchants and travelers. The monsters grew active in spring; as a result, adventurers also grew more active. Allen had ended up saving a fair number of those adventurers too. About once a month, Hawkins found someone needing help.
Protecting the citizens from monsters was also a part of Allen’s duties as huntsman. Because of this, he became quite proactive in saving whomever he could. He even used Leaves of Life on anyone who needed it—hiding the appearance behind his hand, of course. Each leaf cost five Rank E magic stones, but he never thought using them was a waste.
“Hey, there you are, Allen.”
After Allen parted ways with the merchant, he got hailed once again. When he turned around, he saw a male adventurer with a sword on his waist, flanked on both sides by female adventurers. These were the people Allen had actually made plans to meet up with.
“Good morning, Mr. Raven, Ms. Rita, Ms. Milci.”
“All right, first order of business: food!”
“Lead the way, Mr. Raven.”
Allen promptly accepted Raven’s offer for lunch, and the group walked into a restaurant located along a major avenue.
Thinking about it, this is my very first time eating in a restaurant in town.
So far, Allen had done almost nothing else other than work or hunt during his waking moments. Naturally, that included strolling around town. Even though it had been almost a full year since he came to this city, there were plenty of stores that he did not know and places that he had never been to.
“Here ya go. You still collecting these, right?”
While waiting for the food, Raven handed Allen a jute pouch.
“Again? Are you sure about this?”
“’Course.”
It was filled with Rank E magic stones. Every time the two met, Raven gave Allen another pouch of exactly a hundred, so it was most likely the same number again this time. With this, Allen had now received five hundred in total. Thanks to Raven, he now had a rather sizable stock.
It was a little while ago that Raven had found out about Allen being someone from the Granvelle family after another adventurer that Allen had saved told him. Even so, Raven and Allen still met up casually whenever they had something to do together.
“So, why’d you call me?”
Allen had actually not yet told Raven why they were meeting up today. Several days ago, Allen had visited Raven’s inn but was told that he was out, and so asked reception to pass on the request to meet at the city’s central plaza today.
“I’m thinking of moving my hunting grounds a bit farther in. So I want to ask you about the characteristics of Rank C monsters in the area, including things like whether they roam in groups or not.”
“What?!”
As all three in Raven’s group widened their eyes in shock, a delicious-looking meat dish arrived. It probably cost several silver.
“You...understand what you’re saying, right? Even Rank C adventurers like us would die if we get unlucky.”
“That’s why I’m asking you to tell me what you can about the monsters.”
The last time they had met, Raven had told Allen that adventurers had ranks. Just like monsters, the ranking started at “E” and reached all the way to “S.” However, that did not mean an adventurer would be able to fight on equal footing with a monster of the same rank—in general, the adventurer would struggle in such a fight. Allen had asked for this information just in case, even though he was in no hurry for it, as he was considering eventually quitting his job as manservant and switching to being an adventurer.
As they continued eating, Raven revealed that he and his two companions were all Rank C adventurers. Then he told a story of how they had gotten attacked by armored ants, Rank C monsters that were dangerous due to their proclivity to travel in swarms.
However, Allen had already made up his mind about hunting where Rank C monsters roamed. Over lunch, he asked Raven all the questions about Rank C monsters that came to mind, taking detailed notes in his grimoire. There were plenty of reasons for his decision.
He had wiped out almost all of the goblins.
His level was now so high that it was difficult to level up on goblins alone.
When he turned nine years old next month, the multiplier on his stats would go up again (from 0.8 to 0.9).
He now had a large enough stock of Rank E magic stones that he would not have to worry about actively collecting more for a while.
Strengthening had reached Lvl. 5.
Not long ago, Zenof had, over dinner, reported that the number of assault cases by goblins had more than halved over the past six months. In the vicinity between Granvelle City and the White Dragon Mountains, Allen had killed more than ten thousand of them over the span of roughly nine months. Due to this, their population had plummeted, and it was now taking longer to find them. Allen now had more Rank D magic stones than he knew what to do with, so it was about time to move on and challenge the next rank up.
After lunch, Allen went to do some shopping. For the first time after becoming a huntsman, he was finally going to buy equipment for himself. He asked Raven’s group to accompany him and give their opinion, so the four of them walked into a store together.
“Welcome,” the storekeeper said. He gave the group a funny look for bringing a child to an armorer’s, but they ignored it and went straight to checking out what was on offer.
“So, what’re you looking for?” Raven asked.
“Hmm... Something that won’t obstruct my movement.”
Raven recalled how, the first time they met, Allen had taken off so quickly he seemed to have disappeared. “Then you probably shouldn’t get armor. Look for something that’s light and tough.”
Rita suddenly interrupted Raven and Allen’s conversation, holding out a pair of shorts that she had picked up. “I think these would look great on you, Allen! Right, Milci?”
“Um...yeah.”
Rita held the pants against Allen, checking the size. She was acting like an aunt choosing clothes for her nephew.
Hm, reminds me of a uniform from kindergarten or elementary school, the ones where the students have to wear shorts even in winter.
Many of the online computer games Allen had played as Kenichi had options for characters to wear special costumes, but he had never even given them a single glance. All he needed for his armor was defense value and resistance against magic and debuffs. If the most powerful set of equipment ever was a onesie, he would have put it on without hesitation.
In this life, however, things were different. If Allen was to continue his style of hunting while staying on the move, he had to prioritize speed and ease of movement rather than defensibility in order to truly min-max his grinding. The only thing that remained the same was that he valued performance over appearance. This was a motto that had not changed since his time as Kenichi.
“How much is it?” Allen asked, checking out the price of the shorts and the effects it came with.
“Uh, two gold.”
The reason for the slightly higher price tag was because this pair of shorts was made with materials and fur from a monster.
“I want something that would be easy to move in, like these shorts, but I’m willing to go up to around five gold. Is there anything better?”
Allen was prepared to spend more than half of his savings today.
Rita whistled. “Someone’s rolling in cash!”
“Then you’d probably want either of these,” Raven said, picking out two options.
Death Spider mantle: 5 gold
Breath Damage Resistance (Minor), Increased Elemental Damage Resistance (Medium)
Light brown in color
White Bat hood: 6 gold
Breath Damage Resistance (Medium)
White in color
Hm, so these are the only ones in my price range. “Rank C monsters don’t use breath attacks, right?” Allen asked, recalling what Raven had said in the restaurant just now.
“At the very least, none of the monster species you’ll encounter on the way to the White Dragon Mountains use it. I would recommend going for the mantle, partly because it’d be handy both when you feel cold and when you camp out.”
That’s really specific and useful advice. As expected of a veteran adventurer. So, there are things I need to consider aside from the resistances alone. I should take his suggestion.
“I’ll go with the mantle, then.”
With this, Allen was done with his preparations for taking on Rank C monsters.
＊ ＊ ＊
October rolled around, and Allen turned nine. As always, he was waiting in front of the city gates by six in the morning. Today, he was wearing the mantle he had just bought at the armorer’s. He had asked for its length to be adjusted, so there was no worry of him tripping over it.
“Hey there, lad! Nice mantle you’re wearing!”
“Thank you, sir. I bought it the other day.”
The guard and Allen, whose relationship went all the way back to November of the previous year, chatted the way they always did.
This mantle really was a good choice. I like how easily I can put it on, and it keeps my hands free.
Allen gave his arms a shake, confirming that he could move normally.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The gates opened with the ringing of the bell, allowing Allen to run through. Whereas he used to hunt roughly a day’s walk away, his plan today was to go three days’ walk away.
Good, the mantle’s not getting in my way even when I run. Now, I didn’t get to buy a new weapon, but how would this go?
After visiting the armorer’s, Allen had also dropped by a weapons store. However, the sword that caught his eye was too expensive for him at the moment. He was the kind of person who would rather wait to buy what he actually wanted instead of compromising and buying something inferior. However, he was open to considering getting a new weapon if his Summons, short sword, and iron balls proved ineffective today.
Sebas had told him, “This month marks your one-year anniversary of joining our family. It’s a bit early, but we’ll be raising your salary as a manservant to the normal value for an adult, one gold.” Together with his salary as a huntsman, Allen now earned one gold and fifty silver every month.
Allen’s first thought when hearing this was, “It’s already been a year? Time sure flies.” He wondered if the hunting party in Krena Village had already begun this year’s hunts and thought about his family and Krena.
While running, Allen got out his grimoire to look at his stats, which had gone up again on his birthday, October 1. He never got tired of looking at his Status. He thought he could probably just stare at it for three hours straight. Five whenever his stats went up.
Name: Allen
Age: 9
Class: Summoner
Level: 24
HP: 553 (615) + 140
MP: 846 (940) + 200
Attack: 298 (332) + 140
Endurance: 298 (332) + 20
Agility: 560 (623) + 60
Intelligence: 855 (950) + 40
Luck: 560 (623) + 200
Skills: Summoning {4}, Creation {4}, Synthesis {4}, Strengthening {5}, Expansion {3}, Storage, Deletion, Sword Mastery {3}, Throwing {3}
XP: 194,810/600,000
Skill Levels
Summoning: 4
Creation: 4
Synthesis: 4
Strengthening: 5
Skill Experience
Creation: 291,700/1,000,000
Synthesis: 281,640/1,000,000
Strengthening: 200/10,000,000
Creatable Summons
Insect: E, F, G, H
Beast: E, F, G, H
Bird: E, F, G
Grass: E, F
Stone: E
Holder
Insect: E x 2
Beast: E x 14
Bird: E x 4
Grass: E x 20
Stone:
Up until now, in order to maximize his Skill XP, Allen had always spent almost all his MP, leaving only around 30, in the morning before heading out to hunt goblins. Today, however, he had not done so, leaving himself in perfect condition—after all, he had no idea what would happen. After confirming how much MP he would actually use fighting Rank C monsters, he would then gradually lower the amount he left available in the coming weeks.
Now that Strengthening had reached Lvl. 5, it buffed the Summons by +200 in the same two stats they boosted for Allen. It had been +100 in the previous level, which meant the effect had been doubled. This was one of the reasons why Allen decided to attempt challenging Rank C monsters.
Several hours of running later, Allen looked around to confirm whether he had reached where he wanted.
I’ve been running for a while now. Is this place right? Hawkins, come on out.
Four Bird Es appeared overhead, crying, “Piiii!” in unison.
Umm...there should be large ants covered in round armor called armored ants, and some piglike figures walking on two legs called orcs around here. Search as far as ten kilometers in all four directions. If you can’t find any, go further. Find me one of either kind wandering around alone by itself.
The four Summons cried out once more, then scattered.
Allen’s targets for today were monsters that Raven had told him about the other day: the armored ant and the orc. There were plenty of other Rank C monsters—such as the death spider—but they were much harder to find, being significantly rarer, and much more troublesome to kill, as they used special abilities like poison and paralyzing agents.
Armored ants and orcs supposedly often roamed in groups of two to three. Allen’s instruction, however, was to look for ones that were by themselves. This seemed to be a rather strict requirement, seeing as how no Hawkins was back even after thirty minutes.
I guess it really is hard to find ones that are alone. I’ve been waiting quite a while, even though the Bird Es should be much faster than before thanks to Strengthening.
Eventually, as Allen was in the middle of his thoughts, one Hawkins finally came back. It had apparently discovered an armored ant ten kilometers away. Allen ran in the direction it indicated until he found a three-meter-tall monster with what looked like the head of an ant and the body of a pillbug.
I had expected it to be protected by a round shell—I guess “armor” would be a more fitting name?—but this was not what I had imagined. The only ant-like part is its head? I should definitely avoid the pincers. So this is the kind of monster Raven was talking about in his story.
Whereas the pincers on the monster’s jaw did indeed look very vicious, its body looked like a very sturdy salad bowl flipped over.
Now, how am I supposed to kill this thing? Its head is the only part not protected by its armor. Well, let’s start off siccing all my Tamas on it. Tamas, go!
In response to Allen’s command, fourteen saber-toothed cats appeared, surrounded the armored ant, then spammed their Ability, Claw.
They’re barely even scratching the armor. None of the attacks are getting through the head either, which means it must also be pretty tough.
Allen analyzed the fight from behind a tree. Apparently the Tamas could not harm even the monster’s sole unprotected part. The sound of claws scratching hard surfaces filled the air.
The armored ant was hardly just taking all the attacks idly. It snapped its pincers, which were more than a meter each in length, to counterattack. The Beast Es could not withstand these attacks and gradually dwindled in number. Every time that happened, Allen used his magic stones and MP to create a new one and called it out, but he soon determined this strategy to be ineffective.
All right, I gotta take another approach. Agehas, come out! Use Scale Powder.
Leaving the Beast Es to continue their attack, Allen added two Insect Es to the fight—he needed two for their Ability to be effective on a Rank C monster. These one-meter-tall butterflies flapped their wings, covering the armored ant’s head with their yellow powder. The head immediately drooped and became motionless. The monster had fallen asleep.
Nice, so it works on Rank C monsters too! Insect E’s Ability really is useful.
Allen walked up to the armored ant—giving the pincers a wide berth—and circled it to get a comprehensive look.
Hmm, there are a ton of scratches left by the Tamas’ attacks, but it’s all just surface level.
The conclusion that Allen arrived at after careful examination was that Tama really was inappropriate for killing armored ants.
Well, let’s kill this monster before it wakes up.
Allen reached down low, right where the armor barely scraped the ground. Then, with a “Hngh!” he flipped the armored ant onto its back.
That was heavy, but not as much as I’d imagined. Since this is an insect, I bet it’s all empty inside. Makes sense that armor made out of this is light.
According to Raven, the armor of an armored ant, due to being extremely sturdy and light, was very highly prized and used in many adventurers’ armor.
Allen carefully climbed over the side of the overturned shell, making sure he did not lose his balance. It turned out the rest of the monster’s body inside the shell looked like that of a normal ant, just writ large. There were six legs growing from its torso and it had a short and stout abdomen.
Without further ado, Allen scrambled to the torso and brought his sword down on the joint where the monster’s head and torso were connected, figuring this was the softest part of its body. To his surprise, however, all the strength that he plunged down with bounced right back up. A short sword worth fifty silver was apparently insufficient for harming the body of an armored ant.
Damn, that’s tough! If I keep this up, I’ll chip this sword that Dogora gave me. It’s just not sturdy nor sharp enou— Ah, it woke up.
The ant seemed to have woken up from Allen’s attack. It started flailing its barbed legs furiously. Allen continued cutting away at the joint he thought was a weak point while taking care that none of the legs got him.
More than ten minutes later, the short sword finally stabbed deep and the monster’s previously frenzied flailing slowed down until it stopped altogether.
<You have defeated 1 armored ant. You have earned 3,000 XP.>
It’s finally dead. Yep, this monster is a total nope. Killing it takes way too long!
It had taken more than two hours to find this armored ant and kill it. Doing the math, its hourly rate was only 1,500 XP.
God, that took ages. Okay, time to retrieve the magic stone.
While muttering grumpily to himself, Allen struck the torso with his sword.
Clang!
A “Huh?” unconsciously slipped Allen’s lips. The torso had only gotten a little dented instead of being penetrated. He tried a few more times, but to no visible effect.
Uh-oh, is this short sword not good enough to even butcher an armored ant?!
Although this fifty-silver sword did eventually bisect a joint, it was apparently incapable of cutting through the torso. Allen gave up, partly because he did not want to waste any more time here, and partly because he was afraid he would chip his sword.
In exchange for the Summons that I lost and the magic stones I had to expend to replace them, I learned that killing armored ants is extremely inefficient and that I can’t even take out their magic stones. This is definitely a monster that you’re supposed to use magic against, not physical attacks. If anyone’s going the physical route, they’d have to use something like a great sword for more power.
After concluding that the armored ant was an enemy that was beyond his current abilities and equipment, Allen looked up into the sky and found three Hawkins back from scouting.
Hawkins, armored ants are no good. Come on down if you found a single orc by itself.
One Bird E came down obediently. Allen followed it to where an orc should be waiting. Sure enough, after twenty minutes of running, he came upon a monster with its back against a tree trunk taking an afternoon nap. It was wearing very ragged clothing and had a face like a pig’s. Its actual height was unclear as it was sitting, but there was little doubt it towered above the large majority of adult human males. There was a large spear on the ground next to the monster’s limp hand. This was Allen’s second time seeing an orc—the first was when he was looking for Cecil when she got lost close to a lake.
Monsters sleep too? Oh, wait, I just saw Ageha’s Ability work on the armored ant, so that question’s moot. Well, works out great for me that the orc is already asleep. Tamas, come out!
Allen called out fourteen Beast Es while once again peeking from behind a tree.
“Grrrrrr!”
The Beast Es, all fully Strengthened, surrounded the orc and started spamming Claw.
“Oiiiink!”
The orc screamed as fresh blood stained the brown fallen leaves on the ground.
Nice, the 250 Attack is paying off! So, Claw definitely works against orcs.
The fourteen-versus-one fight clearly did not need Allen to get directly involved. While watching on from a distance, he thought back to arm wrestling with Rodin and Gerda. Back then, he had beaten Gerda but lost to Rodin. At the time, his Attack had been a little under 300, leading him to guess that Rodin’s must have been between 300 to 350. Whenever Rodin would deal the finishing blow to a great boar, he always made sure to use his spear. In other words, he needed his Attack stat and the weapon to kill a great boar.
I see. I’m glad I did the arm wrestling.
Even while Allen was wrapped up in his thoughts, the Beast Es continued their assault. Soon enough, the orc fell to the ground, causing a small rumble.
<You have defeated 1 orc. You have earned 1,500 XP.>
The Rank E Summons had successfully hurt—and even killed—an orc, a Rank C monster equal to the great boar.
This is confirmation that I do possess the means to kill Rank C monsters. Based on the results of the arm wrestling back then and the state of this orc, I’m guessing that Claw deals 1.5 times normal damage.
One of Allen’s main goals for today was to confirm whether the Beast E Summons, which were specced exceptionally high in Attack, could be relied on as his main damage dealers. Their Attack, after being Strengthened, was 250, which was not all that high when compared to Rodin or the other members of Krena Village’s hunting party. It was true that orcs had much lower defense than great boars, but Allen had still worried whether his Summons’ attacks could actually be effective. If it had not worked on either armored ants or orcs, then he was planning on going back to hunting goblins.
As it turned out, although the armored ant was indeed too difficult, the orc could indeed be brought down with normal attacks and Claw.
Three Tamas got done in. But if I use Ageha and personally get involved, I think I can prevent any more from being wiped out.
Allen approached the orc corpse to retrieve its magic stone. Now that he could take a closer look, he realized the monster was about two and a half meters in height. Unlike the armored ant, his short sword plunged into the orc’s chest with little resistance. Out came a purple magic stone about the size of a ping-pong ball.
Wow, I’ve become capable of hunting Rank C monsters within a year.
This was a memorable moment for Allen. He had managed to kill a monster at the same rank as a great boar by himself. What was more, he had not relied on traps like he did for white deer. This was the result of his year of hunting goblins, raising his level, and diligently gathering Skill XP.
Hold on, what am I thinking? I still have a long, long way to go.
Allen caught himself just as he was starting to feel moved. Half a year ago, he had lost against Mihai so completely he could not even lift a finger. The eight years he spent raising his level and skills had been easily surpassed by Mihai developing his Talent at Academy City for a single year. The two months that he had devoted to dungeon delving had given him more growth than Allen’s eight years combined. During the practice match, Allen had truly felt the vast chasm between the growth rate of Normal Mode and Hell Mode.
In this world, I can assume those who attend Academy City are particularly powerful.
Mihai had been forthcoming with details about the Academy. In short, being Talented or Talentless was not the only determinant of strength in this world.
Strongest: Have a Talent and are graduates of the Academy
2nd Strongest: Have a Talent but did not graduate from the Academy
3rd Strongest: Talentless but are blessed in terms of physical build and stats
Weakest: Talentless and not blessed in build or stats
Fewer than one percent of people fit into the first category. Categories one and two together made up less than ten percent. The Academy had a strict entrance exam and cost tuition. To graduate, students had to clear several assignments, and those who failed were expelled. It only made sense that those who actually managed to graduate had very impressive Statuses.
The chivalric orders were generally composed of a mix of those in the second and third tiers, with those of the first tier serving as officers or at least officer candidates. Zenof and Leibrand both belonged to this category.
When Allen heard all this, he thought back to when the five-year-old Krena completely overwhelmed Leibrand in a fight. Leibrand was apparently much stronger than Mihai, but Allen had difficulty understanding this within the context of what he had seen. Was Krena actually that strong, or did the vice-captain go easy on her?
The large majority of adventurers were in the third category. This made sense, as most people with Talents would enter government service or become employed in more professional roles. According to Raven, adventurers in the second group could expect to go up to Rank B; if in the first group, then perhaps even Rank A.
So there are still differences within Normal Mode. Well then, it’s time for little old me in Hell Mode to continue hunting. Let’s try attacking two orcs together. Hawkins, find me a pair of orcs within three kilometers.
Allen switched gears and drew his mind back to hunting. The day’s hunting had only just begun. In response to his command, the four Bird Es flew off into the distance.
Four hours later, Allen tallied his kill count for the day: one armored ant and fifteen orcs. That worked out to a total of 25,500 XP.
Ageha’s Ability had worked on the orcs too, but not as effectively as it had on goblins. Whereas the chance of success for goblins had been around eighty percent, it was only sixty percent for orcs. However, Allen had confirmed that he could handle groups of up to three orcs together with limited casualties when he backed up the Beast Es with Insect Es, his iron balls, and his own direct participation.
All right, it’s about time to go home.
Allen decided to break things up earlier than usual as he had come further away today, plus he still had to catch a few beasts to bring back for eating. He looked up at the sun in the sky, one of the very limited ways to check time in this world with no clocks.
Hm, when it was goblins, I had to work hard to get up to 25,000 XP. If I spend an entire day focusing on orcs, I might be able to get around 50,000. I should set my quota to forty orcs, then.
Ultimately, Allen concluded that hunting orcs was entirely viable at his current specs. This day, the target of Allen’s level grinding officially shifted from the Rank D goblin to the Rank C orc.
Chapter 6: Fighting a Murdergalsh
“If you say anything rude to my tutor, I’m going to make you pay!”
“I will not. Don’t worry, milady.”
It was now early November, and Allen was currently with Cecil in the second-floor reception room, waiting for the magic tutor’s arrival. Allen was present for once—as opposed to having this time to himself elsewhere like he usually did during Cecil’s lessons—because of something that had occurred at the end of October.
That day, Cecil had called him to her room. He thought he would be sent on an errand again, but instead she had said, “Allen, you’ve done a good job being my personal manservant for a year. Tell me if there’s anything you want.” She had probably wanted to feel good about giving something to someone and therefore used the pretext of it being a present to Allen for his one year of service.
Despite not quite understanding the noteworthiness of “first anniversary as a manservant,” Allen still thought seriously about what to ask for. Just as he was about to ask for some of the snacks that she usually ate, an idea popped into his head: he wanted a lesson with her magic tutor. Not just staying in the room and sitting in on one of Cecil’s lessons, but one-on-one with the tutor himself.
Multiple tutors came to the Granvelle mansion each week, each teaching Cecil a different subject. This included history, mathematics, language, and of course, magic. The reason for the magic lessons was likely due to Cecil being a Wizardess.
Allen had half expected his request to be turned down, but Cecil simply went, “What? That’s all you want?” and readily agreed.
Then a few weeks passed, and today was the day Allen would get his magic lesson. After lunchtime, an elderly man wearing a robe and carrying a staff arrived at the mansion. Allen had met him multiple times before. This was Cecil’s magic tutor.
“So, you are my student today?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you very much for your time.”
During her last lesson, Cecil had told the tutor, “Please teach Allen next time.” He had accepted and promised to prepare for it. The bag he carried in the hand not holding his staff was much bulkier than usual, indicating that he had indeed spent both time and effort for Allen’s sake.
The tutor took the seat across from Allen’s and Cecil’s in the middle of the reception room.
“Your name is Allen, yes?” the old man asked while pulling his hood back. He had a white mustache and beard and plenty of wrinkles to show for his nearly seventy years of age. “I heard this is a one-off lesson, so I’ve prepared some things ahead of time. But before we start, is there anything you want to ask?”
While waiting for Allen’s reply, the tutor took out several thick books and a crystal ball from his bag, lining them up on the table. Everything together should have been quite heavy, indicating that despite his age, this old man was actually quite strong.
Oh? I can ask anything I want? Then let’s start with the thing I wanted to ask most.
Allen decided to take advantage of this opportunity to ask the question that he had originally intended on posing at the end of the lesson.
“Professor, what are the conditions for using magic?”
The man stroked his beard. “There is but one condition: Talent.”
“Such as Mage and Wizard?”
“That is so. There are others, such as Archwizard, Sage, and Great Sage. It does not matter which one specifically, but one must have a Talent related to magic to use magic.”
“Don’t those with Talents like Cleric and Saintess also use magic?”
“Hm, I see you are rather knowledgeable. Cleric and Saintess use Healing Magic, whereas the Mage and Wizard you previously mentioned use Attack Magic.”
“Is there no Support Magic?”
“Oh? You really are knowledgeable. However, Support Magic is limited to only Sage and Great Sage. Well, there are various other Talents that can use other kinds of magic, but the bottom line is, the condition is still Talent.”
The tutor looked at Allen curiously because of how specific and well-informed his questions had been. Cecil also watched him in astonishment from her seat next to his.
Ah, I’ve dug too deep. It’d seem unnatural if I let slip how much I already know.
While taking notes in his grimoire, Allen said, “I see. Thank you for answering my questions. May I ask another one?”
“Of course.”
“What is the process for using magic?”
The tutor picked up one of the thick books on the table. “You need to memorize the contents of books like this one. This specific one is for beginners and is the one that Lady Cecil is currently learning from.”
Allen accepted the well-worn tome and casually flipped through the pages. “I...have no idea what is written here.” It’s not in Japanese. I don’t recognize this system of writing.
Every page was packed chock-full of symbols that presumably held meaning. It bore no resemblance to Japanese or any other language that Allen remembered from Earth. The complicated geometric patterns did not seem to share any commonality even with each other.
“Well, to use magic, one would have to memorize these symbols. Each one corresponds to a different spell.”
All of this?! Wow, I kinda feel bad for Cecil now.
“Is there anything else other than remembering all these?”
“Simply remembering is not enough; we need to truly memorize every detail of these symbols so well that we can draw them inside our heads. Activating a spell requires recalling its symbol and expending MP.”
“Conversely, does this mean you can use whatever spell you want as long as you memorize its symbol?”
“Unfortunately, it is not so easy.”
There was a certain progression to using magic. For beginner spells, it was true that one simply had to memorize the relevant symbol to use the spell. However, there were far more spells that could not be cast until after casting other spells many times over and overcoming multiple Trials of the Gods.
Ah, in other words, use earlier spells a bunch of times to level the skill up, and the thing with overcoming Trials of the Gods probably refers to raising max MP.
“By the way, do you have any way to confirm whether I can use magic or not?”
“Huh?! But you’re Talentless, Allen! Weren’t you listening? You can’t use magic if you don’t have the Talent for it!”
Cecil sounded indignant at Allen for asking something with such an obvious answer. Everyone’s general understanding was that Allen did not have a Talent.
“It’s fine, Lady Cecil. I did bring a crystal ball just in case. Allen, this crystal ball is able to determine whether someone can use magic or not.”
As it turned out, “Can I use magic?” was a very common question from those who demonstrated an interest in the subject. The tutor explained that the crystal ball he had brought along performed a function akin to a simplified form of Appraisal. It was specialized for sensing whether someone had a Talent related to magic or not.
“Thank you, sir!”
Whoa, just the description of the item alone is getting me hyped up! Now I can know once and for all whether the Summoner class can use magic or not!
The crystal ball, which measured around ten centimeters in diameter, looked like a smaller version of the one Allen had seen during his Appraisal Ceremony. The tutor placed it in front of Allen and said, “Put your hands on top.”
“Yes, sir!” Allen replied eagerly, promptly doing as he was told.
However, nothing happened. Allen kept his hands on the crystal ball for a while longer, but the transparent sphere showed no reaction whatsoever.
“Mm, as you can see, Allen, you are not able to use magic.”
“Seriously?” But that means...
The nightmarish possibility that Allen had been doing his best to ignore so far now took on a tinge of reality. He looked so shocked that Cecil said gently, as if speaking to a younger sibling, “Allen, give it up. You don’t have the Talent for it, so you can’t use magic.”
Allen started. “By the way, what happens if you put your hands on this crystal, milady?”
“What?! How dare you question the professor!” Cecil roared, strangling Allen by the collar for asking a question that blatantly cast doubt on his explanation of the crystal ball. The two raised such a commotion that the tutor had to intervene.
“Now, now, Lady Cecil. It is fine. And since we are at it, would you like to give it a try? I’m sure it would satisfy Allen’s curiosity as well.”
Yes, please show me! I promise to accept the results for what they are. Ugh, I feel sick.
Despite being strangled and shaken, Allen used his eyes to beg Cecil to touch the crystal ball. Upon being placated by the tutor, she sighed, let Allen go, and turned to place her hands on the sphere on the table. When she did so, it shone with a bright yellow light that was warm like sunlight.
The tutor nodded with satisfaction. “Yellow is the color for Wizard and Wizardess.”
It actually lit up...
Allen stared at the light in a stunned daze. Ever since he had been told he would get his time with the magic tutor, he had spent hours and hours thinking of questions to ask, but all of those questions had now vacated his head. He had previously hoped to see a display of magic as well, but he now had much bigger worries.
I’m screwed. This confirms that Summoner is just a joke class.
Currently, Allen’s stats as a Summoner were: HP (Rank A), MP (Rank S), Attack (Rank C), Endurance (Rank C), Agility (Rank A), Intelligence (Rank S), and Luck (Rank A). How much a stat would grow from each level-up varied according to ranking, with “S” being the most and “E” the least. Allen’s Intelligence was “S.”
Why is my Intelligence at Rank S even though I can’t use magic?! And because of that, my Attack and Endurance have been brought down to Rank C!
Allen’s assumption was that his other stats had been made low to balance out his high Intelligence. However, he could not use magic and his Summons did not benefit in any particular way from him having high Intelligence. As it stood, the only benefit was being better at remembering things. This stat was useless to him, especially when it came at the expense of the others. Him having to fight with a sword with this Status was as inefficient and preposterous as a mage character dual-wielding swords.
In other words, my class is a joke. Are my stats intentionally nerfed to balance out the buffs I get from my Summons? Why was my class built this way?!
Several possible reasons for the crystal ball not lighting up came to mind.
The endless complaints that he’d sent to the gods during the six months after his Appraisal Ceremony had angered them, causing them to change Summoner to a joke class.
The crystal ball was faulty.
Whether someone could use magic or not was actually based on their level or skill level.
There was an incredible secret behind why his Intelligence was Rank S.
W-Was it really because I complained too much? Oh Lord Elmea, how could you?!
Allen was left staring off into the distance in a daze. The lesson with the magic tutor that he had received as a reward for his first anniversary as a manservant thus ended quietly and without any hubbub.
＊ ＊ ＊
One month had passed since Allen’s magic lesson, making it now December. The first snow of the year had fallen the other day, with it soon being time for the snow clouds to truly gather in force.
Allen was on serving duty today, and it was now lunch. There were times when members of the baron’s family did not show up for breakfast or lunch, but everyone was present today, with the sole exception of Mihai, who was still living at Academy City.
“Thomas, you shouldn’t eat so much.”
When the second son reached out to the bread basket in the middle of the table and brought several slices back to his own plate, his mother admonished him.
Ever since Allen became a huntsman last December, he had gone out hunting two days every week with only a very small number of exceptions. Now that it was winter, the only edible monsters readily available were horned rabbits. Even so, Allen still brought back around a hundred kilograms of meat per week. The baron family’s fare had been the picture perfect illustration of thrifty living a year ago; now, even the lowliest servant in the household was enjoying a remarkably improved diet.
A new problem that had cropped up—if it could be called that—due to this change was Thomas developing a huge appetite. At the very least, the baroness considered this a problem, and she had gone down to the kitchen multiple times to ask Dudley to make less food for Thomas. Because of this, however, Thomas had started eating more bread during meals, and this was what had led to the earlier exchange. Although he did apologize, he made no move to return the slices of bread to the basket.
I mean, he’s eleven. He’s going through a growth spurt—all boys eat like that at that age. He has sword practice in the afternoons, so I doubt there’s any worry of him getting too chubby.
Allen actually felt a little sorry for the dispirited Thomas. The family had hired a sword instructor who had started giving Thomas lessons this year. The glimpses of them together in the garden that Allen caught every once in a while caused him to wonder if learning the sword was simply a part of the duties of being a noble, regardless of Talent.
“By the way, Allen, when will you be catching another white deer?” Thomas asked, interrupting Allen’s thoughts.
“I am waiting for the snow to pile a little higher first, young master.”
“I’m looking forward to it!”
After this exchange, lunch returned to normal. At least, for a short while.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The city bell began sounding incessantly, the sound reaching the mansion and showing no signs of letting up. Noon had been rung in just now, so there was no way this was the 3 p.m. bell.
“What is going on?!” Baron Granvelle roared, leaping to his feet, as the baroness and Thomas looked around anxiously. Everyone else who heard the bell shared their sentiments.
“I shall go confirm,” Sebas said, leaving the baron’s side and heading out of the dining hall.
Everyone else, including Allen, remained where they were, waiting for the butler’s return. He came back around fifteen minutes later with a knight.
“There you are. So, what’s happening?!” the baron demanded.
“Master, a murdergalsh is approaching the city,” the butler replied. The knight at his side, who was very out of breath, nodded vigorously.
Did he say murdergalsh?!
Allen recognized the name—it was the name of the monster that his younger brother, Mash, had been named after. He had been told that it was a Rank B monster that looked like a huge wolf.
“What?! Why did we not receive word of this sooner?! When will it arrive?!”
The knight got down on one knee before replying. To sum up what he said, a squad on patrol had first spotted the murdergalsh. It had been heading straight for Granvelle City, so the knights had attempted to attract its attention to draw it away elsewhere. However, despite multiple casualties, they had been unsuccessful. At this rate, the monster would reach the city’s south gate at around 3 p.m. There were less than two hours left.
“What are your orders, Master?” Sebas asked.
“Where’s Zenof? Is he not back yet?”
“Master, both the knight captain and vice-captain are currently out on a monster-slaying expedition. They will not be back until the day after.”
The baron knew full well that Zenof was not here, but he simply could not help but ask.
“In that case, issue an emergency quest with the Adventurer’s Guild. Most monsters are dormant at this time of the year, so there should be many adventurers in town. We can only hope Silver Fang of the Gale is here too.”
Ah, that’s the name of the only Rank A adventurer party based in Granvelle City, if I remember right.
A group of adventurers operating together was called a party. Raven, Rita, and Milci were in a party together, with Raven being the leader. According to what Allen had heard from him, the large majority of adventurers in Granvelle City were Rank C or lower, with there being only a handful of Rank B parties and a single Rank A one.
From December to when the snows melted in March, most adventurers would just hunker down behind city walls. Only those who were truly struggling to make ends meet would go outside during this time. Allen was pretty much the only person who continued to hunt with no regard for the weather.
“Understood, Master. What shall we do with the gate?”
Sebas had been asking Baron Granvelle for instructions on things one after the other while Allen had been occupied with recalling what Raven had told him about adventurers.
“Are you asking if we would close them?! How can we do that when there might be those heading to our city who do not yet know about the murdergalsh’s approach?!”
“However, would that not also allow the monster to enter?”
“The gate must be kept open! Order the knights and adventurers to head for the south gate immediately and chase the monster away!”
“As you wish, Master.”
Having received all the orders he needed, the butler hurried out of the dining hall with the knight. They now had to pass word on to the relevant chains of command.
This...is my job, isn’t it?
Allen, who had stayed quiet until the butler was done, now approached the baron. “My lord, may I have permission to join the fight?”
“What?”
Allen had sounded so matter-of-fact that the baron was entirely taken aback. Cecil immediately flared up.
“Huh?! What’re you saying?! You heard them! It’s a murdergalsh! Of course you can’t join in!”
“Milady.”
“Wh-What?!”
“Your father, Baron Granvelle, instated me as a huntsman. I consider it part of my duties to join this fight.”
“Huh?!”
Cecil looked very surprised, but it was true that one of the duties of a huntsman was to save citizens of the realm who were being attacked by monsters outside a settlement. Allen had done so multiple times already over the past year. Aside from culling monsters and bringing meat back, he had also headed over whenever Hawkins spotted anyone who was in trouble. If today had been one of Allen’s hunting days, he would have already rushed out by now. It was because today was not a hunting day that he was asking the baron for express permission.
Cecil had fallen silent, so Allen turned back to the baron, pleading with his eyes.
“I...see,” the baron managed in a voice lower and heavier than usual. He had realized that Allen’s argument was logical and irrefutable. “If you are fulfilling the duties that I assigned you, then I have no reason to stop you.”
It looked like Cecil wanted to say something, but she swallowed her words back down.
“Thank you, my lord. I shall head over immediately. Due to the urgency of the situation, I will do so in my current attire.”
“Mm, prioritize evacuating the people rather than fighting the murdergalsh.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The moment Allen stepped out of the dining hall, he took off at a dash.
There’s no time. The city is in a panic right now, and it’d probably be hard to run through the crowds. I should leave from the north gate and circle around to the south gate.
The Granvelle mansion was located in the northern part of the city. It was a much shorter distance simply taking the large avenue that ran in a straight line down the middle of the city. However, Allen was worried that the city would be in a state of mayhem at the moment, especially in the center and south areas. As such, he determined that it would be faster to take the long way around.
Please, MP, recover quickly.
This situation had been entirely unexpected. On days when he did not plan on going hunting, Allen would convert all his MP into Skill XP. The last time he did this was three hours ago, meaning his tank was completely empty right now.
Allen passed through the north gate in his black servant uniform, then picked up the pace even more while running southward. Slightly over two hours later, he finally reached the south gate, finding it choked with a whole line of people desperately trying to get in. Adventurers and knights were protectively stationed around the overflowing crowds.
A huge figure over five meters tall towered a slight distance away. There was something in its hands; when Allen took a better look, he realized it was a horse that had already lost half of its body. The monster was in the middle of eating the rest of it, chewing loudly.
That’s a murdergalsh?!
Allen had heard the murdergalsh described as a large wolf, but what he was seeing could hardly be called such. At the end of front legs that looked like human arms, it had large fingers that also looked especially humanlike. Worst of all, its face was a revolting cross between human and canine. Between its two hind legs was a slowly swishing tail; the lower half of its body was the only part that looked like a wolf.
Right beside where the murdergalsh was eating the horse was a carriage with broken wheels that had fallen over. A trail of mangled horse and human corpses stretched into the distance from the direction that the murdergalsh had presumably come from, painting a literal road of blood. One only had to take a single look at this sight to understand why the word “murder” was part of this monster’s name.
“Young man! What’re you doing over there?! Hurry up and get inside the city!”
One of the knights had noticed Allen standing still and called out to him, but Allen ignored him and continued observing the murdergalsh. In all likelihood, the horse that the monster was currently eating had been the one pulling the carriage, and the dead man on the ground a slight distance away had served as its coachman. Suddenly, Allen noticed silhouettes moving within the carriage. There were people still inside.
That moment, the murdergalsh reached out with its free hand and tore off the canopy covering the carriage, revealing a mother and daughter trembling in each other’s arms, too frightened to even scream. The monster’s face twisted into an eerie smirk, its humanlike features making it look all the more terrifying. The blood that stained its teeth dripped down from its fangs, forming small puddles below.
Drip, drop, drip, drop.
The knights and adventurers stayed in their positions, bracing themselves to protect the merchants and travelers trying to get inside the city. They watched the scene with bated breath, but made no move to save the mother and daughter. However, Allen saw no need to follow what they were doing. He took out an iron ball from Storage, not caring who saw him do so.
The murdergalsh reached out toward the mother and daughter. It did so slowly as if purposely trying to evoke as much terror as possible from its prey.
Drop dead, you piece of shit!
That instant, Allen threw his iron ball with as much strength as he could muster. The projectile flew straight and true, squashing one of the monster’s eyeballs.
“AAAAAAAAUUUUUHHHHHHH!” the monster shrieked in a hair-raising cry.
“Hey, you want a piece of me? I’m right here! I’m gonna kill you!”
Allen had managed to destroy one of its eyes. He threw a second iron ball, but the murdergalsh, which was now aware of Allen’s existence, easily swatted it away with its front limb. He heard voices shouting things like, “What’re you doing, boy?!” and “Hurry, run away!” behind his back, but he paid them no mind, dashing off to position himself on the opposite side of the monster from the carriage and city with the White Dragon Mountains at his back. When he turned around briefly to provoke the monster again—“What’s wrong, you stupid mutt? You scared of me? What a coward!”—he saw adventurers, knights, and travelers all looking his way with unease in their eyes.
Allen threw another iron ball, but the murdergalsh easily deflected that one too. Although it had lost one eye, it clearly remained more than capable of protecting itself from taking any further damage from Allen’s iron balls. Even so, the boy was about to throw another one, simply for the sake of drawing the monster’s attention. But just then, the monster, which had only turned its head toward Allen’s direction so far, slowly stood up on its hind legs, reaching almost seven meters in height.
“AAAAAUUUHHHHHHHHH!”
It howled, then threw away the half-eaten horse, sending it flying through the air in an arc before slamming into the ground with a loud crash. The monster then got down on all fours and turned to face Allen.
“Come at me!”
In response to Allen’s goading, the murdergalsh started off at a trot, quickly accelerating into a full-speed charge.
All right, I succeeded in making it target me instead of the passengers of the carriage.
Allen shouted loudly at the knights and adventurers, “I’m going to draw the murdergalsh toward the White Dragon Mountains!” before turning and running off at full speed. He called out his grimoire to check his MP and found it still at zero.
Still?! It should be back anytime now!
The distance between Allen and the murdergalsh gradually shrunk as the two continued racing on.
“Holy cra—!”
Soon enough, the monster had caught up, despite Allen’s Agility being over 600. It took a swing with one of its front arms. Allen barely managed to dodge the attack, but doing so caused him to lose his balance and fall over. After rolling several times on the ground, he quickly got back up and whirled around to regain a visual on the monster, fully expecting a follow-up attack. However, it simply stared down at him with a smirk, showing no indication of attacking. Apparently it had enjoyed the sight of Allen falling. The way it no longer seemed bothered about losing an eye only added to its eeriness.
Ah, this is what games are referring to when monsters skip their turn and the text says, “The monster smirks at you.”
Allen had, in his past life as Kenichi, played computer games with turn-based combat systems where the player’s and the game monster’s sides took turns attacking each other. Sometimes, however, the monsters did nothing during their turn—instead, there was only a pop-up that read something like, “The monster smirks at you.” Back then, Kenichi only counted it as a lucky break and did not give it any further thought. Now that a monster was actually doing it to him in real life, he finally understood why it happened. In the murdergalsh’s single remaining eye, Allen was nothing more than a toy.
Well, I’ll still count this as a lucky break ’cause my MP just came back!
Allen cast a quick glance at his grimoire and confirmed that the MP field in his Status was no longer zero.
I need more Agility. The two types of cards that buff Agility are Bird, which also buffs Intelligence, and Insect, which also buffs Endurance. Okay, Agility and Endurance are exactly what I need right now.
While slowly backing up, Allen did his best to act like he was in despair so as to make the murdergalsh lower its guard. He even shivered and pulled a look of absolute terror.
“AAAAUUUHHHHH!”
The murdergalsh’s human-dog face twisted into a look of ecstasy and delight.
Talk about having a shit personality. I can never tell Mash about this. Father, you have the worst naming sense ever!
This monster had been the inspiration for “Mash,” the name of Allen’s younger brother. Now that he knew its personality, however, he realized that it was not exactly the best thing to name a child after. He dearly wished that if Theresia had another child, it would be a girl so that she would be the one to decide on a name.
Allen kept up the act of being frightened as he quickly used his grimoire to change up the distribution of the cards he had in stock. Because the necessary magic stones were already inside Storage, he simply had to will the process and the book would take care of the rest by itself. All twenty of the Grass E cards that he had been keeping to raise his max MP were now changed to Insect E instead. The grimoire’s pages flipped furiously as cards were Deleted and Created in quick succession. While he was at it, Allen converted the Beast E and Beast F cards he had relied on for Attack to Insect E too. In the end, that left him with four Bird E cards and thirty-six Insect E cards.
The reason Allen had basically gone full Agility was because the murdergalsh had clearly been faster than him just now. He had yet to find out just how strong it was, but he had no interest in finding out by letting himself get caught.
Allen backed off a little more. Seeing that the monster was not going to immediately pounce, he turned tail and dashed off. A loud boom sounded at his back, followed by the pounding of footfalls. Allen attempted to determine his relative distance to the monster through the sound and pushed himself to maintain his lead.
This isn’t enough. I’ve got to go farther away.
Drawing the murdergalsh away from Granvelle City was a given, but considering this opportunity, Allen wanted to attempt killing it outright. Currently, he was only several hundred meters away from the collapsed carriage. The figures of the knights and adventurers in the distance were no more than mere specks by now, but he wanted to gain more distance so that he could freely use his Summons to fight.
The deadly game of tag continued until the hunter and prey reached an area sparsely populated with trees almost two kilometers away from Granvelle City. This was far enough that they were entirely beyond the sight of everyone in the city.
All right. Ageha, use your Ability!
Allen called out three Insect Es behind himself without stopping. As the murdergalsh was a Rank B monster, three Insect Es were needed in order for their Ability, Scale Powder, to be effective.
Yellow powder fell on the murdergalsh’s head. It stopped in its tracks, so Allen also stopped running and turned around, hopeful.
“AAAAAUUUHHHH!”
With a cry, the beast swung its front arm and swept away all three Insect Es in one blow, reducing them to glowing bubbles that faded into the air.
What?! It didn’t work?! Does it have resistances? Or did I just get unlucky?
The debuffs cast through the Abilities of the Insect cards were not a hundred percent guaranteed to work. After trying only once, there was no way to tell whether Scale Powder only happened to fail this time or it simply would not work, period.
Crap, it’s after me again.
With the Insect E Summons gone, the game of tag resumed. Allen Created more Insect Es to replace the ones he had just lost and continued running in desperation.
Three long, long hours later, Allen was hiding behind a tree. The murdergalsh was nowhere in sight.
Ugh, I finally lost it. But man, Scale Powder just isn’t working on it at all. None of the other Insect card debuffs work either, for that matter.
Allen took out his mantle from Storage and draped it over his manservant uniform. During the chase just now, he had attempted to use the Abilities of Insects G, F, and E on the murdergalsh, but none of them had proved effective. Because of this, he had given up the idea of killing the monster and was focusing entirely on escaping. This was not an opponent that he could stand up to without the support of debuffs.
All right, let’s head back to Granvelle City. Dammit, I ended up using a lot of magic stones.
Just as Allen was regretting the significant decrease in his stock of Rank E magic stones...
Crack. Snap.
The tree that Allen was leaning against shook, and a beastly stench filled his nose.
“What?!”
Allen whirled around in surprise to look behind the tree. What he found was the smirking face of the murdergalsh. It deftly used its humanlike hands to pull the tree out as if plucking a mere weed. This served as the signal for the game of tag to resume once more.
＊ ＊ ＊
Three days had passed since the murdergalsh appeared near Granvelle City.
One of the guards at the north gate spotted Allen returning. His black manservant uniform was all muddy, and he was huddled in his mantle.
“Hey there, lad!”
Oh, I’m finally back.
“Good—”
Upon reaching the gate with tottering steps, Allen collapsed in the middle of giving his usual greeting. He had lost consciousness as if a switch had been turned off.
“Huh? Lad, a-are you okay?!”
The guard rushed over in surprise and found the boy already fast asleep.
This was how Allen’s first encounter with the murdergalsh came to an end.
*
＊ ＊ ＊
Allen slowly opened his eyes. “Where...?”
Is this...the mansion? Hm? Is this one of the guest rooms? Huh? What happened to me? What happened to the murdergalsh?!
The sight of the murdergalsh’s eerie grin flashed into Allen’s mind, causing him to suddenly sit upright in bed. His memories were still jumbled. He looked down and found himself wearing his usual sleepwear instead of his uniform. Someone must have helped him change.
“You’ve awakened,” Sebas said from the bedside. He had apparently been keeping vigil.
“Y-Yes, sir. Um, what happened to me?”
“How much do you remember?” the butler asked slowly, picking up on Allen’s confusion.
This question seemed to help jog the boy’s memories. He had been chased by the murdergalsh for three days and nights. He had somehow managed to finally lose it and then turned back toward Granvelle City.
“I don’t remember anything after figuring out the direction home and setting out.”
“Well, you collapsed in front of the north gate. A guard carried you back here. Two days ago, that is.”
“I...see...”
“I will now go and summon Zenof. When he arrives, you will go see Master and report on what happened with the murdergalsh. Any questions?”
“None, sir. Completely understood.”
“Mm. There is still time, so continue resting for now.”
“Thank you, sir.”
After the butler left the guest room, Allen fell back asleep, fully enjoying the fluffy bed normally reserved for VIP guests. When he woke up again, he found a tray loaded with food at his bedside. Just as he finished wolfing it down, savoring every morsel, the knight captain arrived at the mansion. Another servant came into the room to tell Allen to head to the conference room on the third floor.
The conference room, huh? I’ve never been before. It’s this way, right?
Despite having worked in this mansion for over a year, Allen had yet to enter the baron’s bedroom, study, or conference room.
When Allen reached the third floor, he found Zenof waiting for him outside the conference room.
“How are you feeling, Allen?”
“Well rested and fully recovered, Sir.”
“Glad to hear it. The guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild is inside at the moment. We will wait here until he finishes his business.”
“Understood, Sir.”
Is it regarding the murdergalsh? I remember the baron talking about an emergency quest or something. But boy, this sure turned into a big deal.
Allen recalled everything that had happened after he left the north gate. Due to his game of tag with the murdergalsh, he had gotten a very good grasp on the strength of a Rank B monster. He now knew beyond a doubt that at his current level and Summoning level, Rank C was the limit of what he could defeat.
He then recalled the adventurers and knights who had simply looked on as the carriage was being assaulted. They had probably also really wanted to help but were painfully aware of their own limitations. Allen now understood the conflict that had been going on inside their minds all too well.
There were almost no adventurers or knights possessing a Talent who could go toe-to-toe against a Rank B monster. In the first place, the overwhelming majority of adventurers were Talentless. From what Raven had said, there was likely only one adventurer in the entire Granvelle realm who could put up a fight against a Rank B monster: the leader of the top-ranked party, Silver Fang of the Gale.
And right now, the man touted as the strongest in the realm, stronger than even the party leader of Silver Fang of the Gale, was currently standing right beside Allen. Allen had never seen him in an actual fight before, but all sources had assured him of Zenof’s overwhelming strength. In fact, he had even earned an alias: War Demon Zenof. This was why the baron had asked about him first thing when he received news of the murdergalsh.
According to word on the street, the knight captain’s Talent was Sword Master. Allen had never heard of it before, but he suspected that it was the two-star class between the one-star Swordsman and three-star Sword Lord.
Just as Allen was occupied with thinking about the knight captain, Sebas emerged from the conference room with a brawny bald man. This was the guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild branch in Granvelle City. He had stayed for dinner at the mansion several times on days when Allen had been on serving duty.
“All right, I’m leaving. Goddammit.”
Hm? He seems kind of irked about something. Is it about the emergency quest?
Allen and the guildmaster’s eyes met, so Allen bowed and said, “Good day, sir.”
The man’s eyes widened slightly. “Alle—”
“Even if you have business with our staff,” Sebas interrupted, “I’m afraid he is currently unavailable as he needs to report to the baron.”
“Tch, nah, I got no business. Just wanted to say, well done making it back alive, kid.”
The boy was surprised the guildmaster knew his name, but before he could continue, Sebas cut in and escorted the guildmaster out of the mansion. It seemed he had been about to say something but instead ended with giving Allen’s head a few pats while passing by.
Huh? What was that for? It seemed like Sebas had been trying to prevent him from talking to me. Why’s that?
After seeing the guildmaster off, Sebas returned to the third floor and entered the conference room together with Zenof and Allen. Allen was gestured toward the seat directly across from the baron’s on the other side of the aged, circular table in the middle of the room.
“Are you well enough to be up and moving? I am glad to see you returned to us without any major injuries.”
“Yes, my lord, I am well. I apologize for all the trouble I have caused.”
“Hm? You have nothing to apologize for. That said, I do want to hear all the details of what happened between you and the murdergalsh. This might affect the response that I take, so be as detailed as you can.”
Allen nodded his head in acknowledgment, then recounted his experience. He told of how the murdergalsh had already gotten quite close when he finally arrived at the south gate and how he found the carriage under attack. He had then thrown iron balls at the monster in order to save the mother and child in the carriage and attract the monster’s attention. Then he drew the beast toward the White Dragon Mountains so that it would no longer attack the city.
The baron listened to Allen with a frown. Every once in a while, he turned to look at Zenof as if seeking confirmation of the credibility in what Allen was saying. Every time, the knight captain simply nodded.
“The murdergalsh was extremely persistent. I lost it multiple times, but it still continued coming after me.”
“And that is why you could not return for three days, yes? I had received reports of a boy wearing the Granvelle servant uniform leading the murdergalsh away from the city. I had assumed you were dead and eaten.”
Many knights and adventurers had witnessed what Allen had done near the south gate. Naturally, word had reached the baron’s ears.
“Yes, my lord. Unfortunately, my memory is somewhat fuzzy, but I believe I finally lost the monster quite far away.”
Because he had no way to prove anything without also revealing his abilities as a Summoner, Allen was a bit vague regarding where and how he had lost the murdergalsh. The truth, however, was that he had gone all the way to the foot of the White Dragon Mountains. Along the way, he had encountered monsters like white deer and armored ants that he had purposely tried to set on the murdergalsh. However, this had proved pointless, as the murdergalsh easily trampled them and went right back to chasing Allen.
“I see. I now have the full picture. First of all, I will say this: do not worry about being penalized for being absent from your duties as manservant and server during this ordeal. After all, you were doing your best to save my citizens. Rather, you will be rewarded.”
“R-Really?!” I’m getting a reward! It feels like ages since the mention of the last one!
“This is the reward.”
Two small bags were placed on the table. They made a clinking sound, which got Allen’s hopes up even higher.
Are they filled with coins?! Hold on...but why two bags?
“This is ten gold from me in reward for your efforts in this incident. According to reports, the emergency quest has been called off, meaning that the situation is over. The number of casualties among the citizens, adventurers, and knights have been kept to a minimum.”
The baron had chosen the words “kept to a minimum” because, sadly, there had indeed been casualties.
“Thank you, my lord.” Damn, ten gold. He’s being really generous.
Allen had been at this mansion for a little over a year by now, and there was one thing that he had learned: this family, despite being nobility, was very poor. Back when he first arrived, he had found their diet even more meager than what he had eaten as a serf. In hindsight, Allen realized that the reason the baron had rewarded Rodin and the hunters of Krena Village with commoner status was most likely because he could not afford to give them anything tangible. After all, making serfs commoners did not cost anything.
A royal envoy had visited the Granvelle mansion twice in the past year. Both times, the topic was on raising the head tax in the fiefdom. The envoy had insisted that there was room for a raise—perhaps not making it as high as it was in the neighboring Carnel realm, but there was room nonetheless. On the other hand, Baron Granvelle had firmly said no both times, unwilling to further burden his people. Unfortunately, the low head tax he had set meant that his income through tax was not enough to pay the amount that the national treasury expected from his realm. Consequently, he was paying for the difference out of his own pocket. This was why, despite being nobles, his family lived very frugally. Allen, for one, thought their poverty an honorable one.
The baron continued, interrupting Allen’s thoughts. “Now, this other bag. It also contains ten gold, making this a total of twenty gold. This is from the family of those who were in the carriage you saved.”
“The carriage, sir?”
As it turned out, the passengers in the carriage had been the wife and daughter of the owner of a high-class inn located on one of the city’s main avenues. The man had left this amount at the baron’s mansion to express his gratitude.
Woohoo! That mithril sword I was eyeing is finally within reach!
Allen had been considering buying a steel sword for five gold, but thanks to this sudden windfall, he could now afford a mithril sword. He wanted to immediately rush to a weapons store as soon as this audience was over, but it turned out there were a lot more things that needed to be delved into. In the end, the shops were all closed by the time Allen was finally dismissed.
Chapter 7: Summoning Lvl. 5
“Heh heh heh, a mithril sword cuts so well!” Allen chuckled excitedly.
On this particular day off, he was once again far outside of Granvelle City. The other day, he had received a total of twenty gold for driving the murdergalsh from town and saving the family of a high-class inn’s owner. Allen had used this money, together with the five gold from his own savings, to buy a mithril sword.
As he was still only nine years old, a full-length sword would be too long for him to wield properly. He had therefore asked the weapons store to make him one halfway between a short sword and a dagger. Luckily, the owner was willing to lower the price from the original thirty gold since he used less mithril for the shorter weapon.
Hmm, the armor’s really tough, so I still can’t penetrate it directly. But the body inside is so soft I almost feel like I’m cutting through air.
Allen was currently testing out his new sword against an armored ant, comparing how it felt against the sword he had received from Dogora.
With this, I can now loot magic stones from armored ants.
The last time Allen had killed one of these monsters, he had had no other choice but to leave it virtually untouched, magic stone and all. This time, he clambered over the three-meter-tall body once more.
Damn, you really are huge.
When looking at the armored ant, the strange feeling that Allen had felt about the monsters in this world ever since he was six washed over him again. He had almost mistaken the albaheron—with its wingspan of over two meters—for a wyvern, only to be told later that it was merely Rank D. The great boar, which towered at more than three meters tall, had almost killed Rodin with a single blow, even though he should have raised his level quite high after ten years of hunting.
This strange feeling had only grown stronger when Allen came to Granvelle City. The muscular and vicious goblins were, again, only Rank D. Armored ants reached three meters in height and were protected by shells impervious against common weapons, but were Rank C. Orcs, which were two and a half meters tall and had enough intelligence to use weapons, also had the same ranking. And as discovered recently, the Rank B murdergalsh was capable of killing both knights and adventurers with a single stomp. Its very name evoked terror and, understandably, the reward for killing it went all the way up to two hundred gold.
It’s just...I can’t quite put my finger on it. I mean, it’s not like I’d ever seen monsters before coming to this world, but it’s like...they’re all one notch stronger than what I expected them to be?
Unfortunately, Allen’s attempt to articulate this indefinable feeling did not work out.
Never mind, I can think about this later. There’s something that I really want to test out today.
Allen had decided to lower his kill quota for the day to make time for looking into something he had discovered while being chased by the murdergalsh for three days and nights. He looked up at the sky and saw Bird Es circling above. He had instructed them before to immediately inform him when they spotted certain monsters or adventurers; those instructions now included the murdergalsh as well. After all, Allen had no idea where it had gone after he lost it in the foothills of the White Dragon Mountains. There was a chance that it might head back to attack Granvelle City again while he was out hunting.
According to Raven, the murdergalsh mainly popped up on the open roads between settlements, almost never launching a full-out assault on villages or cities. Allen recognized this behavioral pattern; it was the same as field boss monsters inside games.
Field bosses were powerful monsters unrelated to the main story or events that constantly roamed about the open areas of a game. After being killed, these bosses would simply respawn. They had a tendency to suddenly show up in areas where low-leveled players gathered and would wipe them all out. Technically, they could be considered the products born of the game developers’ playfulness.
Two Hawkins, come down. Another one of you, fly around for five minutes, then come back.
One of the Summons flew off in a random direction as two others came down. Allen reverted one of them into card form. This was the start of his experiment.
Hawkins, look at this.
Allen showed the Hawkins that remained on the ground a jute bag, making sure that it saw there was nothing inside. Then he took out a molmo and put it inside the bag. After that, he took out another molmo, a strip of jerky, and a dried potato, lining them up on the ground.
Now, Hawkins. Which of these did I just put into the bag? Peck at the answer with your beak.
The bird that had been watching Allen throughout the entire process chose the molmo without hesitation.
Okay, good job. Now, you come out.
Allen called out the Hawkins he had turned into a card earlier. This one had not seen him putting a molmo into the jute bag.
Tell me which of these items is inside the bag. Don’t guess—if you don’t know, don’t choose.
The Hawkins that had been in card form also chose the molmo without hesitation.
I see. So you really do know.
This result was exactly as Allen had expected. Just then, the bird that had flown five minutes away returned.
Come on down. Okay, good! Now you tell me which of these is inside this bag. If you don’t know, shake your head.
The bird shook its head.
All right, so you don’t know. That’s fine. Next, Create.
Allen used one magic stone to Create a new Bird E and Summoned it. He raised its Intelligence through Strengthening to give it the ability to understand speech, then asked it to also guess what was inside the jute bag.
It immediately chose the molmo.
As I’d suspected. So even the newly Created one knows. Now, Poppo, come out.
This time, Allen Summoned a Bird F. Once again, he Strengthened it, then asked it the same question.
Unlike the just-Created Bird E, this Bird F shook its head.
So you don’t know. Hmm, I guess being chased by the murdergalsh wasn’t a total waste of time.
Allen had run nonstop for three days and nights, forgoing even sleep. During that time, he had used Hawkins’s Ability, Hawk Eyes, to confirm the murdergalsh’s location. The monster that served as “it” in this deadly game of tag doggedly kept on Allen’s tail, doing everything in its power to find him. Somewhere along the way, it figured out that the hawks that flew up every now and then would return to where he was and therefore started following the birds in turn. On the ropes, Allen came up with the idea to order Hawkins not to return to where he was after locating the murdergalsh. When he Created a new Hawkins and told that one to go search for the murdergalsh, to his surprise it took off as if it already knew where the monster’s location was.
Seeing that, Allen made a mental note to properly explore how the Summons shared and passed on information and knowledge.
Let’s sum up what I just learned.
Allen had put a molmo into a bag in front of only one Bird E. The Bird E that he subsequently Summoned from a card as well as the one that he Created from scratch knew what he had done, whereas the one that had been out the entire time and the newly Created Bird F had no idea.
So it’s basically like this, then?
A Summon’s knowledge is synced to the most up-to-date version whenever it is Created or Summoned.
Knowledge is only shared within type and rank.
It’d have been so much more convenient without the fifty meter limit, but I guess there’s no point crying over it now.
Fifty Meter Rule
Summons can only be called out from and returned to card form within fifty meters around Allen.
Summons also need to be within fifty meters to receive the order from Allen to use their Abilities.
Allen looked at the Bird Es staring back at him, awaiting orders.
So you guys are constantly being updated, huh? In other words, you’re continuously accumulating knowledge and growing together with me.
Thanks to the deadly game of tag, Allen had received in this discovery a reward that he considered much more valuable than any amount of gold.
The Summons were conscious and were continuously adding to what they knew. As long as their Summoner, Allen, remained, they were existences that would continue to learn and grow in a process that surpassed even death.
＊ ＊ ＊
The year turned and it was now March. Allen was in the middle of a match in the garden of the Granvelle estate.
Clang! Clang!
Damn, he’s still completely overwhelming me.
Since it was March, Cecil’s oldest brother Mihai had returned home from Academy City again. The boy had readily agreed when Allen—whom he had thoroughly bested last year—asked for a rematch. The reason Allen wanted to do this was to gauge how fast someone in Normal Mode could grow. After all, information was a weapon too.
Since October of the previous year, Allen had shifted to hunting Rank C monsters. His kill count over the past six months was over two thousand, making him now Lvl. 28. His stats had gone up quite significantly, but apparently he was still inferior to Mihai in swordsmanship. Every move he tried was handily seen through, evaded, and parried. Mihai was smiling the entire bout, indicating that he was not even trying his best.
Ugh. I’ve worked so hard on both my levels and Sword Mastery, and I still can’t win. At least, not when I have twenty Grass E cards in stock.
For each single point of XP in Normal Mode, Hell Mode required a hundred. The curriculum at the Academy likely placed a lot of emphasis on helping students raise both their base and skill levels. Regardless of the details, their methods were effective. And as someone who needed a hundred times more XP to level up, Allen keenly felt how the gap between him and Mihai had opened up even more compared to last year.
The baron, baroness, Thomas, and Cecil had all gathered to spectate. Despite being the one who had requested the match, Allen lost quite quickly. Just like last time, his sword was knocked out of his hand, signaling the end.
“How wonderful! Master Mihai, you have grown yet even more skillful.”
In accordance with Mihai’s request, Captain Zenof had started calling him “Master” instead of “Young Master.”
“Thank you, Zenof. Allen, you have grown a lot as well.”
“No, no, I still have a long way to go in comparison to you, milord.”
When Allen replied to the praise modestly, the other boy extended a hand as if asking for a handshake. Naturally, Allen accepted it.
He did this also last year. I wonder if it’s a custom from the Academy?
“As expected of Cecil’s attendant. Allen, take care of my sister.”
“Of course, Master. I will serve her to the utmost of my ability.”
Mihai smiled, seemingly satisfied with Allen’s response.
“Which reminds me, you fought with a murdergalsh, right? How did it go? I want to hear all about it.”
I didn’t so much fight it as played tag with it. But being chased the entire time sucked; I wish I could’ve had a turn at being “it.”
Wondering which family member had told Mihai about that, Allen asked for permission to tell the story over lunch, as the lunch hour was near. Just as everyone was about to turn and head back indoors, a knight suddenly burst onto the scene.
“U-Urgent report, sir!”
Uh-oh, don’t tell me...
A sense of foreboding rose in Allen’s chest. The last time a knight had rushed in to give an urgent report was when the murdergalsh had shown up. Was the game of death tag about to begin anew?
“Mm?” The knight captain stepped up to his subordinate. “Speak.”
“Yes, sir! The white dragon has moved, sir!”
The baron cut in, his tone ecstatic. “Is that true?! Where?! Where has it moved to?!”
Zenof said, “Your Lordship, considering the time, how about we head inside to hear the details?”
What?! I wanna hear all about the white dragon’s movement too!
Allen was worried that the conversation would be moved to the conference room, but everyone headed to the dining room instead. He followed along happily, as this meant he would be allowed to hear the details as well.
In the year and a half he had served at the Granvelle mansion, Allen had seen multiple people bring in important information related to the management of the fiefdom. Depending on the degree of confidentiality of that information, the baron would at times order the room cleared.
Information at this level was for the ears of the baron and his direct family alone. Allen, along with all other servants, would be ordered to leave the room, even if it meant dropping whatever they were in the middle of doing. This had in fact occurred a few times during Allen’s service.
Discussions considered even more confidential would not be held in the dining room. The baron, butler, and knight captain would instead gather by themselves in the conference room, which was located next to the baron’s study on the third floor. At that time, no would be allowed on the floor, much less near the room.
This time, however, the information was not considered especially sensitive. In this case, everyone who normally served the baron’s immediate family as their personal attendants would also be privy to what was being said. The baron opted to have lunch while receiving the knight’s report.
Once everyone was settled, Zenof told the knight, “Continue your report.”
“Yes, sir. The adventurer party Silver Fang of the Gale reported finding that the white dragon has disappeared from its lair. They spent three days attempting to trace its tracks to no avail. Then they decided to return to Granvelle City to inform the Adventurer’s Guild first thing.”
“So, it’s finally moved away! It’s been so long!” Despite being in the middle of a meal, the baron was so overjoyed that he leaped to his feet with both hands clasped together, quivering. He was the very picture of a man overcome with emotion.
“We intend on requesting that Silver Fang of the Gale continue their search. That is all for my report, sir.”
After being dismissed, the knight exited the dining hall. The baron and knight captain promptly burst into discussion.
“I have been dreaming of this day for so long. Zenof, send men to confirm the state of the mithril mines.”
“Of course, my lord! However, we still do not know where the white dragon is. Should we not first prioritize confirming the location of its new lair?”
“Mm, I hear you. However, mithril mining is a duty of our realm. We must find out what has become of the mines as soon as possible.”
The two seemed to be having trouble seeing eye to eye. On one hand, the knight captain wished to prioritize locating the white dragon, whereas on the other, the baron wanted to reopen the mines that had lain dormant for over a hundred years with haste.
Mihai joined the conversation, his interest piqued. “Does this mean all the monsters between the city and mines need to be cleared?”
“Indeed, Master Mihai,” Zenof replied. “Once we are able to confirm that the white dragon has completely left our realm, we will need to immediately begin securing the four mines and the surrounding areas.”
“I still have a bit of time here. I’ll help out.”
“I’m afraid I cannot allow that, Master Mihai, as the white dragon may still be out there somewhere. Your safety is of utmost importance to us.”
The reason the knight captain had turned down Mihai’s offer to join the investigative effort was because he had determined that at his current strength, even Mihai would be in danger should he encounter the white dragon.
If I remember correctly, there are goblin and orc villages at the foot of the mountains.
Allen recalled what he had heard from Raven while listening to the ongoing conversation. The foothills of the White Dragon Mountains were supposedly covered in thick forestland and dotted with villages built up by goblins and orcs. Allen faintly remembered spotting something that might have fit that description when he was running away from the murdergalsh. Raven had also said that within those settlements were variant monsters that were a rank higher than their counterparts—that meant Rank C goblins and Rank B orcs.
As these superior species had much higher reproductive capabilities, villages with them would eventually overflow. The surplus population would then move from the mountain foothills toward Granvelle City or assault human villages and travelers. If the monsters got too numerous and caused too much damage, the chivalric order would have to be mobilized to fight them alongside the adventurers.
The area beyond the tree line farther up the mountain was supposedly filled with armored ant nests. Within these nests dwelled countless armored ants and, of course, individuals of the superior species: queen armored ants.
I see. So, the chivalric order might be dispatched to wipe out the goblin and orc villages. Well, I can’t have them beating me to the punch.
Allen was resolute to not allow the knights “steal” what he saw as “his” XP.
Through the investigation carried out over the next few months, it was confirmed that the white dragon had moved to the Carnel side of the White Dragon Mountains.
＊ ＊ ＊
Time passed after Mihai’s return to Academy City, and it was now early July. Allen was currently somewhere farther than a day’s walk from Granvelle City.
Okay, I’m far from town and my MP is full. Today’s gonna be dedicated entirely to testing and analysis!
Just the other day, Allen had finally reached Summoning Lvl. 5. This morning, he had not converted his MP to Skill XP as usual; instead, he planned on spending the whole day exploring every new thing he had obtained.
As level-up messages would disappear from the log after a certain period of time, he had hurriedly copied it down on one of the Memo pages. He now turned to that page to read over the message once more.
<The Skill XP of Synthesis has reached 1,000,000/1,000,000. Synthesis has reached Lvl. 5. Summoning has reached Lvl. 5. Expansion has reached Lvl. 4. You have obtained Sharing.>
Allen flipped to the page with his Status. So, the new skill that I gained from this level-up is Sharing.
Name: Allen
Age: 9
Class: Summoner
Level: 30
HP: 688 (765) + 140
MP: 1,062 (1,180) + 200
Attack: 374 (416) + 140
Endurance: 374 (416) + 20
Agility: 701 (779) + 60
Intelligence: 1,071 (1,190) + 40
Luck: 609 (779) + 200
Skills: Summoning {5}, Creation {5}, Synthesis {5}, Strengthening {5}, Expansion {4}, Storage, Sharing, Deletion, Sword Mastery {3}, Throwing {3}
XP: 2,516,810/3,000,000
Skill Levels
Summoning: 5
Creation: 5
Synthesis: 5
Strengthening: 5
Skill Experience
Creation: 10/10,000,000
Synthesis: 0/10,000,000
Strengthening: 680/10,000,000
Creatable Summons
Insect: D, E, F, G, H
Beast: D, E, F, G, H
Bird: D, E, F, G
Grass: D, E, F
Stone: D, E
???: D
Holder
Insect: E x 2
Beast: E x 14
Bird: E x 4
Grass: E x 20
Stone:
???:
This level-up took me over two years, and I’m gonna need 30,000,000 Skill XP for the next one. The numbers are starting to get out of hand.
Naturally, Allen left a record whenever he leveled up. In a way, this was an album of the major milestones in his path as a Summoner.
Record of Level-Ups
1 year & 0 months old: Obtained grimoire, Summoning Lvl. 1, gained access to Rank H Summons
1 year & 10 months old: Summoning Lvl. 2, obtained Synthesis
3 years & 0 months old: Gained access to Rank G Summons
5 years & 11 months old: Summoning Lvl. 3, obtained Strengthening, gained access to Rank F Summons
7 years & 9 months old: Summoning Lvl. 4, obtained Storage, gained access to Rank E Summons
9 years & 10 months old: Summoning Lvl. 5, obtained Sharing, gained access to Rank D Summons
Well then, let’s start with checking the holders. Expansion leveled up, which means there should be fifty pockets now, right?
Each level-up of the Expansion skill so far had given Allen ten more pockets to store cards in. The last level-up had put him at forty slots, so he expected to now have fifty slots.
Mm, just as I thought. Fifty. This is gonna boost my stats quite a lot.
Since Expansion leveled up every time Summoning did, Allen did not feel particularly moved by it anymore. However, access to ten more storage slots and cards one rank higher meant that his maximum stat boosts had shot up considerably.
Next thing... Hm, I should go over the new skill first, and then take my time with the Rank D Summons.
Six Summons had been added under Rank D. It would presumably take some time to go through them all, so Allen decided to first examine Sharing, which he could likely get out of the way faster.
First of all, it doesn’t seem to be a skill that makes my Summons stronger, so this is something completely distinct from Strengthening.
Allen had been gradually increasing the rank of the monsters he hunted. His main targets at the moment were Rank C, but he wanted to move on to Rank B monsters as soon as possible. The reason for this was because, as his level continued going up, the amount of XP that he needed for successive level-ups rose in tandem. In order to reach Lvl. 31, he now needed 3,000,000 XP. That meant two thousand orcs, even though he could only find forty or fifty of them after one full day of running around. It was obvious that in order to earn higher XP values, he needed to kill higher-ranked monsters. To make matters worse, it was getting harder and harder to find orcs around these parts, most likely because he had more or less culled their population.
Storage ended up being a pretty incredible skill too, so I think I can get my hopes up for Sharing, right? Hmm, based on the name, I imagine it enables me to share something with my Summons? Hawkins, come out.
“Pii!”
Allen called out one Bird E to test on.
Okay... Sharing!
Without hesitation, he activated the new skill.
“Huh?! It’s...me?!”
Suddenly Allen found himself staring at...himself. There were a few mirrors in the Granvelle mansion, including a big one in the servants’ dining hall for anyone who wanted to fix their appearance in a hurry. Ever since becoming a manservant, Allen had picked up the habit of examining his entire figure in a mirror. And that was exactly what he felt like he was doing right now.
Ohhhhh! This is Hawkins’s field of view! So I’m seeing what it’s seeing!
In short, the Sharing skill enabled Allen to, well, share his Summons’ eyes.
What’s this? It doesn’t feel strange at all, even though I’m seeing both Hawkins’s and my field of view at the same time. Hawkins, look around in several directions.
Just because Allen was seeing what Hawkins was seeing, it did not mean his own vision was obscured. For Allen, the fact that this did not feel strange at all was strange in and of itself. The Bird E moved its head to look all around.
Hmm, I can still see both fields of view just fine even when Hawkins is moving a lot.
The activation of this skill did not place any extra burden on Allen’s sense of sight whatsoever; it did not even feel unnatural, let alone make him dizzy. He could see and comprehend two fields of view at the same time with no issues at all.
All right, Hawkins, fly up!
The Bird E flapped its wings and soared into the sky. When it stopped to look back down, Allen was able to see the land spread out below. The horizon that he had been unable to see before due to all the trees now lay clearly in view.
Th-This is incredible! What a moving sight! Hawkins, try flying a little.
Just as ordered, Hawkins started flying forward slowly, with Allen still seeing through its eyes.
Just amazing! What even is this? Oh, right, Hawkins, use Hawk Eye— WHOOAA! Are you serious?! I can even Share what it sees when it’s using its Ability!
When Allen ordered Hawkins to activate its Ability, Hawk Eye, he found his vision opening up even farther, reaching several kilometers into the distance. Bird E’s capability to spot anything that moved within a radius of several kilometers was conveyed directly to Allen’s eyes.
It almost feels like I took over Hawkins’s body. Hold on, when I’m in this state, can I give it instructions even farther than fifty meters away?
When one fact was revealed, another question popped up. Up until this point, Allen had only been able to give instructions to his Summons if they were within a fifty meter radius of him. He now wanted to test how far he could continue giving instructions to a Summon when Sharing its sight.
Upon being commanded to do so, the Bird E flew on until it was more than fifty meters away from Allen’s position.
Okay, that’s enough. Now, stop using Hawk Eye.
As soon as he gave the order, Allen found his sight through Hawkins’s eyes returning to normal. In other words, he had successfully given it an instruction that it obeyed from more than fifty meters away. What’s more, the link through Sharing was still going strong, entirely unaffected by the distance. In his excitement, Allen continued giving the Summon various orders, making it fly circles, swoop low, do barrel rolls, and everything else he could think of. Bird E carried everything out while staying over fifty meters away.
Allen now had a way to directly give his Summons instructions regardless of distance.
“This is basically multiboxing! No, this is even better!”
Allen was so excited that he ended up shouting out loud. He recognized the basic concept behind this Sharing skill. Back when he was Kenichi, he had controlled two characters at the same time when playing a game before. This was called “multiboxing.” There were even some game companies that recommended this playstyle, as players had to pay a monthly subscription fee for each and every account they played on.
That naturally led to the question of why someone would go so far as to pay the subscription fee twice, thrice, or even more times on top of buying more game consoles and additional monitors in order to multibox. The answer was simple: since it was still the same person behind all the different characters, so they could keep all the drops. What was more, doing this also saved the time that would normally be required to find party members.
In order to multibox, Kenichi had indeed purchased multiple monitors and consoles. Allen still remembered how it felt playing two characters at the same time, the rush of busily looking between two screens and desperately manipulating two controllers.
His current situation was a huge upgrade compared to the past. He could see and comprehend both his and Hawkins’s sight at the same time. Even though he was seeing the sky and the ground at the same time, it did not feel awkward in the slightest.
“I see, so this is the effect of Sharing. Hm? Wait, is this even more incredible than I’d thought?”
A certain possibility popped up into Allen’s mind, suggesting a massive change to what he was capable of as a Summoner.
Can I use Sharing to make my Summons hunt far away from where I am? Can I make a hunting party composed solely of my Summons?
Currently, Allen needed to run throughout the entire forest to do his hunting. As soon as his Bird Es would find a target, he would then run over to kill it. Rinse and repeat. The fact that he could give his Summons instructions from farther than fifty meters away using the Sharing skill opened up the possibility of hunting without him having to do all that running around. What’s more, Summons could remain Summoned for thirty days. If they could operate independently with no distance limitations, then Allen could continue hunting even when he was back at the mansion. This would be a complete game changer for his leveling up.
Before I get ahead of myself, let’s first check how many Summons I can Share with at the same time. Hawkins, come out.
Three more Bird Es appeared before Allen. He activated Share with all of them. Now, he was looking at a total of five fields of vision, including his own.
So, no problems Sharing with four at once. Honestly, how do I not feel strange about seeing five things at the same time?
In his previous life, Allen’s limit for multiboxing was only two characters, though he had heard of masters who could control four. Now, however, he was feeling no strain at all from using the Sharing skill. He was seeing five fields of vision as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Honestly, this is less multiboxing and more parallel thinking. All right, I don’t have any more Hawkinses in store, so, Tama, come out.
Allen Shared the sight of each Summon that came out in turn. But then...
“AAARRRGHHHHH!”
Right after Sharing with the sixth Summon, Allen’s head became racked by a terrible pain. It was so bad that he crumpled to the ground, clutching his skull. He disabled the sixth Sharing link in a fluster.
Huh? The headache’s gone. Oh man, I thought I was gonna die. So, Sharing can be disabled. I got a really bad headache with the sixth one. Does it mean the limit for Sharing is five? Is it five within the same rank?
Although the pain scared him, Allen saw the need to confirm how many Summons he could Share with at the same time. He Deleted an Insect E card, then apprehensively Created and Summoned an Insect G card.
All right, here goes. Share with Hopp— ARGH!
A severe headache struck Allen once more when he attempted to Share with Insect E as the sixth Summon.
Is five just a flat limit regardless of rank? Why is that?
Along with Summoning’s recent level-up, Allen could now call out a total of fifty Summons at any given moment. It would be an incredible pity if he could only Share with five of them. He pondered why five was the limit for Sharing. Since he did not have enough information, he took another look at his own Status.
Just like Storage, Sharing can’t be leveled up. At first glance, it might seem like this skill has no potential for improvement and that the limit will stay at five permanently. The thing is, I don’t understand why the limit was set at five. What could be the reason?
The gears in Allen’s mind continued turning. Was this skill arbitrarily capped at five, or was there a certain condition that limited him to five for now? If it was due to a condition, then what was it?
Would it go up if I leveled up more? I’m Lvl. 31 right now. Is it, like, I can Share with another Summon every six levels? What else? Wait a minute...is this where Intelligence comes in?!
The moment Allen saw the Intelligence field on his Status, an epiphany came to him. That stat was currently 1,075 including the boosts from his cards. Perhaps this was the condition that determined how many he could Share with concurrently. This was a theory he could test without having to level up.
If Intelligence really is the condition, it would mean every 200 points in Intelligence enables me to Share with another Summon. Let’s try raising the stat. Ah, might as well do it with Rank D Summons.
Since he had more slots and access to Rank D Summons, Allen decided to Create a few Bird D cards with the aim of bringing his Intelligence up to 1,200. If his hypothesis was correct, this should enable him to Share with a sixth Summon.
All right, I’ve got 1,200 Intelligence now.
Thanks to the buffs from the Bird D cards, Allen had reached the number he wanted. The Hopper that he had Summoned earlier was still there, right next to him.
Okay. Hopper, Share.
Allen had braced himself, ready to disable Sharing right away if he got another terrible headache. However, this worry turned out to be unwarranted. He found himself seeing a perspective barely an inch higher than the ground, the lowest that he had ever been situated.
“Hell yeah! The sixth Share worked! It really is Intelligence! Sharing is tied to Intelligence! And it really is 200 Intelligence for each Share!”
There were few things as moving as proving one’s own hypothesis. Allen whooped from the sense of achievement that washed over him. About an hour later, he had figured out almost everything there was to know about the skill.
Does not cost MP to use
Can Share with one additional Summon per 200 Intelligence
Shares consciousness with a Summon; can instruct it to use its Ability or carry out other commands
Cannot command another Summon through a Shared Summon
The only senses that can be Shared are sight and sound (taste has not been tested)
The Summon has to be within 50 meters to activate Sharing
Sharing can be disabled even when the Summon is farther than 50 meters away
Summons with under 100 Intelligence cannot perceive instructions even while Shared
Shared Summons can be returned to card form from farther than 50 meters away
When a Summon is returned to card form from over 50 meters away, the card automatically reappears in a slot
And I think that’s about it. So I’m not personally controlling the Summons, only giving them instructions. I don’t actually take over their bodies.
As Allen was only instructing the Summons he was Sharing with, there was a small time lag between him giving orders and the Summons carrying those orders out. His theory was that in order to shorten this lag, he had to consciously visualize what it was that he wanted the Summon to do.
And last note to add to the list: I still get the XP when my Summons kill monsters more than fifty meters away from me.
Allen had set up an impromptu squad of Summons and had them go kill a monster. As a result, his XP had gone up. He now knew that his plan to farm XP remotely could actually be realized.
I see, so this is the reason the Summoning class has such high Intelligence.
Last year in November, Allen had received a lesson with Cecil’s magic tutor as a reward for his first year of service. At the time, he had been absolutely crushed to find out that he could not use magic. As it turned out, however, there was indeed a startling reason behind why his class had Rank S Intelligence.
In the video games that Allen had played as Kenichi, most magic-using classes relied on stats like Intelligence and Wisdom. In line with this, he had learned from his lesson with the tutor that using magic in this world required memorizing a countless number of very complicated symbols. This was a feat that would be impossible for a normal person, equally impossible as Allen instantaneously processing information from multiple fields of view. It was the Intelligence stat that made such impossibilities possible. Allen now finally understood the importance of Intelligence in this world.
I’ll need more time to work out the kind of things I can do using Sharing. All right, let’s move on to examining the Rank D Summons now. I’ve got a shit ton of Rank D magic stones, so let’s get through this pronto.
Thanks to Sharing, Allen felt the scope of his powers as a Summoner practically blown wide open. Now he was moving on to discovering what his new Summons could do.
Chapter 8: Rank D Summons
Even though Allen had started in the morning, it had taken so long to analyze his new skill that the sun had already passed its zenith before he knew it. So, he got out his lunch of dried potato and molmo to fill his stomach.
After his experience of being chased by the murdergalsh, Allen had packed a months’ worth of dried potato, meat jerky, and molmo as rations inside Storage, together with equipment for camping out, such as a blanket, a fire-starting magic tool, and torches. These were just in case he ever found himself once again unable to return to town for a few days. As time was stopped inside Storage, the food he put inside would not rot. The torches could also enter Storage already lit, so he put a few of those inside just in case the others went out. This might have rendered his fire-starting magic tool moot, but it never hurt to be extra prepared.
Then again, I have more than ten thousand Rank D magic stones, so I think I’ll be able to go through the new Summons at a pretty quick pace.
After he finished eating, Allen called out all of the Rank D Summons. Then he checked the information on their cards.
Status of Insect D (Spider)
Type: Insect
Rank: D
Name: Spidey
HP: 120
MP: 0
Attack: 140
Endurance: 200
Agility: 200
Intelligence: 125
Luck: 60
Buffs: Endurance 20, Agility 20
Ability: Spider Silk
Status of Beast D (Bear)
Type: Beast
Rank: D
Name: Teddy
HP: 200
MP: 0
Attack: 200
Endurance: 128
Agility: 80
Intelligence: 130
Luck: 60
Buffs: HP 20, Attack 20
Ability: Crush
Status of Bird D (Owl)
Type: Bird
Rank: D
Name: Horo
HP: 76
MP: 0
Attack: 83
Endurance: 67
Agility: 200
Intelligence: 200
Luck: 160
Buffs: Agility 20, Intelligence 20
Ability: Night Vision
Status of Grass D (Potato)
Type: Grass
Rank: D
Name: Tater
HP: 50
MP: 200
Attack: 40
Endurance: 35
Agility: 40
Intelligence: 60
Luck: 200
Buffs: MP 20, Luck 20
Ability: Crop of Magic
Status of Stone D (Bronze Statue)
Type: Stone
Rank: D
Name: Bron
HP: 200
MP: 0
Attack: 180
Endurance: 200
Agility: 100
Intelligence: 140
Luck: 108
Buffs: HP 20, Endurance 20
Ability: Defend
Status of Fish D (Salmon)
Type: Fish
Rank: D
Name: Belly
HP: 80
MP: 200
Attack: 54
Endurance: 34
Agility: 160
Intelligence: 200
Luck: 170
Buffs: MP 20, Intelligence 20
Ability: Splash
As a result of his testing, two armored ants now lay dead in front of Allen. The huge cracks in their salad bowl-like armor were leaking bodily fluids. Before them stood a brown Summon that looked like a grizzly bear roughly two and a half meters in length. It looked pretty proud of itself for having beaten the armored ants. This bear was none other than Teddy, the Beast D Summon.
Next to Teddy stood a giant spider that was one and a half meters long and sixty centimeters tall. This black form had both its front legs raised in the air as it continued hissing intimidatingly at the dead armored ants. This was Spidey, the Insect D Summon.
Nice, nice, so Teddy’s Ability, Crush, can break through an armored ant’s shell. It’s not quite enough to kill the monster in one strike, but that’s where Spidey comes in.
The monsters with broken armor were tied up with sticky white strands. Insect D’s Ability, Spider Silk, enabled it to produce highly adhesive thread from the tip of its abdomen that was useful for tying enemies up, slowing them down, or stopping them in their tracks—or just messing with them in general.
Just like the other Summons in their respective categories, the Beast D Summon was specced for offense and the Insect D Summon for debuffs. These two were going to be the backbone of Allen’s hunting efforts going forward. Thankfully, both of them had over 100 Intelligence right out of the gate.
Allen next looked up at an owl with a maximum wingspan of over one and a half meters that was perched on a tree. This Bird D Summon returned his gaze with its large, round eyes.
There’s no way to test Horo’s Ability right now, but based on the name, Night Vision likely allows it to see in the dark. Hawkins can only scout during daytime, and now I have Horo to do the same at night. Hawk Eye in the day and Night Vision at night sounds about right.
While hoping that the effect of Bird D’s Ability was indeed as its name suggested, Allen made a mental note to test it out after sunset. He then turned to look at the strange figure at his feet that looked like a potato with hands and legs. This was Tater, the Grass D Summon.
Just like Grass F and Grass E, Grass D also turned out to be a Summon with a one-use Ability that turned it into a recovery item. The Ability name, Crop of Magic, suggested that it was an MP recovery item. Sure enough, when he gave the Japanese plum-sized berry a try after depleting his MP, the fruit disappeared from his hand and restored 1,000 MP.
Allen finally had access to a method of recovering his MP, which was absolutely crucial for raising his skill levels. He now needed 30,000,000 Skill XP to reach Summoning Lvl. 6. He therefore decided to dedicate all his naturally recovering MP toward Skill XP, and to keep Crops of Magic inside Storage for battles where he might suddenly need MP. Thanks to having more than ten thousand magic stones, he would never run entirely out of MP for the foreseeable future. This way, he was more than equipped to cope if suddenly attacked by powerful opponents.
Now I have access to all the MP I’ll need if the murdergalsh ever comes after me again.
Beside Allen stood what looked like a two-meter-tall suit of European armor made of bronze. This large-bodied Summon carried a shield as tall as itself.
Now, Bron. I never did get around to using Wally, the Stone E Summon. But still, even a bronze statue can be classified as a Stone type, huh? The gods of this world sure are broad-minded.
The way Allen hunted mainly consisted of scouting out new monsters and staying on the move at the same time, a style referred to as “chaining” in his previous life. This was the opposite of lying in wait for enemies to approach—conversely called “camping”—so he had not had any opportunity to use the Stone E Summon. He had not even kept copies in the card holders. How to use the Stone Summons without changing his hunting style was a question that he would have to tackle going forward.
And that’s it for the analysis of the new Summons in the preexisting categories. That leaves Belly, which boosts my MP and Intelligence. I do appreciate the Intelligence, as it helps me Share with more Summons. But...hmm, a fish, huh? Making a single one of these cards burns through fifteen magic stones. In that sense, Insect and Beast cards are great for only costing one magic stone. They provide me with Attack, Agility, and HP buffs, so it really is great that I got them early on.
The Creation and Synthesis process for Summons at Rank E and higher all required magic stones; the more complicated the Synthesis process, the more magic stones needed. The Fish card required multiple rounds of Synthesis, ultimately bringing its cost to fifteen magic stones.
Cost in Magic Stones
Insect: 1
Beast: 1
Bird: 3
Grass: 5
Stone: 9
Fish: 15
Well then, let’s try calling it out. Belly.
When Allen called a Fish D out to analyze it, a salmon appeared, looking exactly like the illustration on its card. The meter-long fish flopped about on the ground.
“For some reason, it looks like the most useless of all the Summons I’ve seen so far. It’s starting to remind me of Denka.”
Allen could hardly be faulted for his doubt; the latest Summon that he had finally obtained after more than two years of effort turned out to be a creature that could not even move around properly. This was the very illustration of the phrase “fish on a chopping block.”
Well, how about I first see its Ability in action? Belly, Splash.
Immediately, the fish sank underground, leaving only its back and dorsal fin visible. It then flapped furiously, scattering shining droplets all over. Some of it got onto Allen, who was then enveloped in a faint glow that quickly faded away.
*
“Whoa! It dove into the ground! Wait, I’m glowing?! Or...not. It went away. What did it do, though?” Allen checked his Status in his grimoire and gasped in surprise. “I got a Status buff!”
Name: Allen (Increased Physical & Magic Evasion)
Right beside his name was a brand new field indicating that he now had increased evasion against both physical and magic attacks.
So the Fish cards give Status buffs. I did see some of the spray landing on the other Summons too just now. So this Ability doesn’t just work on me but on all Summons too... Ah, is the effective radius fifty meters?
Allen had noticed the other Summons glow when Belly used its Ability. That even included Horo, which was still up in its tree, indicating that the effect of this Ability reached quite far. Since the range for almost everything related to his class was fifty meters, Allen assumed it was the same here as well.
This is definitely helpful. Hopefully this’ll lower the number of Summons that get killed in battle and, by extension, lower the number of magic stones that I have to use to replace them. I should confirm how long the effect of this Ability lasts.
Allen continued analyzing what the newly added Fish-type Summon brought to the table, musing over how it could expand the options available to him in battle.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Phew! That was another fun day of hunting.”
It was now 4 p.m. and Allen was wrapping up another day of hunting. He was about to turn back and start looking for edible prey to bring home.
Currently before him lay the corpse of an armored ant whose head had been caved in by a Teddy. After learning that he could safely kill armored ants with the power of the Beast D Summons last time, he had shifted from only hunting orcs to hunting armored ants as well. According to what he saw through Hawk Eye from Sharing with Hawkins—he now valued Sharing very much for enabling him to practically scout in person—there were many more armored ants than orcs in the vicinity. Thinking about it, it made sense that ants reproduced at a higher rate than pigs did.
Now then, I’ve gotten permission from Sebas, so let’s bring this back too.
Allen flipped over the armored ant with the crushed head and swiftly used his mithril sword to separate the armor from the rest of the body. Naturally, he remembered to fetch the magic stone as well.
Until recently, he had prioritized only the hunting aspect and therefore had not brought back any materials from the monsters he killed. After all, it would take two to three hours to go to a shop where he could sell everything, and the shop was quite a distance from the mansion as well. He much rather preferred spending that time hunting. In his eyes, XP was worth far more than gold.
However, now that he had reached Summoning Lvl. 5 and could kill armored ants without much trouble, his way of thinking had changed a little. First, it occurred to him that he could use an armored ant’s armor instead of a shoulder basket to carry the beasts that he was bringing back for meat. Consequently, he now instructed his Summons to aim for the head and not the body when fighting armored ants. After that, he learned that this armor could be sold for one gold apiece. The unit price was extremely high and it was convenient for carrying meat back with. And so he had decided to bring one back with him every time he went hunting.
Allen had also asked Sebas whether he could sell these pieces of armor to an armorer. The baron’s family could buy them off him too, except that the family had no use for them. So Sebas had given Allen the go ahead.
Then Allen came up with the idea to ask one of his fellow servants to bring the armored ant shells to an armorer and sell them on his behalf. When he explained that he intended on letting whoever helped him keep the proceeds from one piece of armor for every ten that they sold for him, Sebas also gave this the green light, saying that many of the servants would be more than happy to take on the task. This was how Allen managed to save himself the time needed to visit the armorer’s.
All right, done with the butchering. Let’s get started, then.
Just because the day was ending, it did not mean that Allen’s hunting was over. Thanks to the thirty Fish D cards he now kept in his holders, his Intelligence was over 1,600. As Sharing with one Summon required 200 Intelligence, he could now Share with eight Summons at a time. What’s more, he had done a little more testing and confirmed that Night Vision did indeed serve as a scouting Ability for use at night—just that it could not see behind obstacles—and that the duration of the effect of Splash lasted for twenty-four hours. Now that he had finished all his preliminary analysis of the Rank D Summons, he was about to attempt sending a group of Summons out into the wild by themselves—while Sharing with them, of course—to hunt remotely.
If possible, I’d like to form two squads, but that would mean there being only four Summons in each squad. It’s probably better to keep them all together in one larger party of eight.
The group was composed of one Insect D, four Beast Ds, one Bird E, one Bird D, and one Fish D. The most important thing about having Summons fight on their own was ensuring that none of them died. Allen was too far away to replenish their numbers, so a death would mean a permanent decrease to the party’s fighting power. This was why including an Insect D and a Fish D for their effects was absolutely crucial. Bird E and Bird D would serve as the group’s scouts in the daytime and nighttime, respectively. Naturally, the bulk of the fighting would be left to the Beast Ds. It was also their duty to protect the other Summons.
Yep, these numbers should be more than enough to handle Rank C monsters. Guys, off you go. Make sure you don’t attack other adventurers!
The most important thing to the Summons Squad this time was not how many monsters they could kill, but how well they could avoid hurting other adventurers. Allen knew they would fully obey the instructions he gave them, but just in case, he stressed again that they were not to retaliate even if under attack by said adventurers.
Allen had also given Bird E and Bird D specific instructions to steer clear of adventurers. The reason he went to the extra trouble was because he would be sleeping at night. Sharing could still be maintained while he slept, but he naturally would not be able to give instructions should a situation crop up. During that time, the Summons would have to move at their own discretion. This was why Allen had been extremely thorough with the warnings he left with them.
There was one more thing that Allen was quite sure of but had yet to properly confirm: the duration of Sharing was very likely thirty days, the same length of time that Summons could remain Summoned. Going to sleep with it active felt like falling asleep in front of the computer while gaming in his previous life—he could still hear the sounds coming in through the feeds.
Even while returning to town, Allen continued monitoring and giving instructions to the eight Summons. When doing so, he did not have to instruct each one separately; no, he was capable of instructing all of them at once. The reason he could watch from eight pairs of eyes, comprehend all eight Summons’ movements and relative positioning, keep in mind the details of their Abilities, and send them instructions all at the same time was likely entirely due to the boon of 1,600 Intelligence.
It was currently still Bird E’s turn at scouting. Once it got a bit darker, it would be time for Bird D to take over.
Gotta find monsters to kill first. Let’s start with a small group.
Thanks to Sharing, Allen had only just learned that, just like Night Vision, Hawk Eye also could not see behind obstacles. A quick pan around with it revealed a pair of orcs three kilometers ahead.
Perfect timing.
The discovery was instantaneously passed on to the other seven Summons, which promptly began making their way over toward the monsters. Thanks to obtaining Sharing, the speed at which Allen could convey information had improved drastically. Because he could directly see what his Summons were seeing, even when they were using their Abilities, he could give them much more specific instructions that were tailored to their situations. The entire process had become incredibly streamlined.
As the orcs’ position was in an area where plant growth was sparse, they could clearly see the seven Summons approaching. Both sides shifted into battle readiness as the two groups approached each other.
When they got close enough, Insect D used Spider Silk to tie up the two charging orcs. Then the Beast Ds followed up with Crush, killing them off before they could do anything.
<You have defeated 1 orc. You have earned 1,500 XP.>
<You have defeated 1 orc. You have earned 1,500 XP.>
Heh heh heh, that was a piece of cake. The Summons are a bit slow on foot, but I can deal with it.
Allen personally had much higher Agility than the Rank D Summons. Although he was slightly dissatisfied with their speed, the hunt continued.
I do also have to focus on helping the Summons so they can get used to doing this.
When a new Summon was born, it inherited all memories and experiences from those of the same type and rank that had lived before. Having the members of this Summons Squad learn the intricacies of hunting as a group was also an important goal of this initiative.
The next morning, Allen awoke to find that his XP had not gone up at all, even though the log on his grimoire was filled with records of the monsters that had been killed by the Summons Squad. In other words, while he was asleep, the monsters were practically only polishing their individual skills without any benefits coming back to Allen himself. He felt a warm feeling bubbling up inside his chest after learning that what amounted to AFK gaming did not work in this world.
He made a memo, then decided to do more analysis of the conditions for gaining XP.
＊ ＊ ＊
Several days later, Allen was attempting something new using Sharing. The scene for the day’s experiment was to be Krena Village. He was currently viewing the nostalgic landscape of his home village through the eyes of Chappy, the Bird G Summon that looked like a parrot. A distance that required five days on foot for a normal human being had only taken the Strengthened Bird G several hours.
“I am Krena the knight! Here I come!”
“Ready!”
Krena and Dogora just happened to be starting a new match. After almost two years, their fights were no longer on the level of “play.” Dogora’s dad, the village weapons merchant and blacksmith, had probably been the one who forged the iron sword and ax the two children were using. The sound of weapons clashing resonated louder than ever.
*
At the same time, a slight distance away, Mash and Pelomas were playing knight together using wooden swords. It had been so long since he had been back that Allen could not help but have Chappy perch on a tree so that he could watch this scene longer.
Ah, no, I have something I want to pass on.
After confirming how much his friends had grown, Allen moved on from Krena’s house to that of his own family. Theresia was in the earthen-floored room.
It’s mother! And wow, Myulla’s grown so big!
Bird G managed to infiltrate the house without being spotted by Theresia. A lump rose in Allen’s throat as he gazed at her through Chappy’s eyes. It had been less than two years since he left, but it felt like it had been ten.
Clink.
“Huh?”
The sound of a metallic noise prompted Theresia to turn around. Chappy was already gone. Instead, only a single gold coin lay on the ground
＊ ＊ ＊
October rolled around, and Allen turned ten. This meant he had been working at the Granvelle mansion for two full years. In the beginning, he had only planned on staying for two to three years before telling Sebas that the job did not suit him after all and then heading home. Even now, he still did plan on eventually leaving—specifically, once he turned twelve—but he had gotten much more involved with the Granvelle family during these past two years than originally expected. The thought that he would have to part with them after another two years spurred him to carry out his duties as a manservant as best he could.
This morning, as always, Allen had breakfast while chatting with Rickel, the head manservant. The fact that Allen had turned ten meant that Rickel was now twenty. When Allen talked about how it had been two years since he first came to work at the mansion, Rickel proudly said he was in his twelfth year. He was a true veteran by now, having served as a houseboy several years before becoming a manservant. He was always a good sport about the topics Allen brought up.
The details of Allen’s work as Cecil’s personal manservant had also changed somewhat. Now that Cecil was ten years old, her wild tendencies that were characteristic of children had faded quite a bit. Consequently, she sent Allen out for errands far less frequently now. Her personality remained pretty much the same, though.
Something else that had changed was Allen’s salary: his pay as a huntsman was being raised to one gold each month starting today. Together with the one gold he earned as a manservant, his total monthly salary would be two gold going forward. He had surpassed the pay rate of the head manservant.
Today was also the day that Captain Zenof would be returning from an expedition to inspect the state of the mithril mines in the White Dragon Mountains. Allen fervently prayed that the report would be delivered in the dining hall and not the conference room. Perhaps a god had been listening, for his prayer came true. Allen would be present in the dining hall and was grateful for the opportunity to hear the details of Zenof’s findings.
And so lunchtime arrived. Allen kept an ear constantly fixed on the conversation while serving.
“So, what’s the state of the mithril mines?” the baron asked, wasting no time.
When he learned back in March that the white dragon had moved to Carnel, he had immediately ordered a situational analysis. Apparently the baron was in a hurry to get the mithril mining restarted. Allen wondered if his frugal living conditions were spurring him to seek the profits promised by mithril mining.
“Yes, my lord. Currently...”
When the report then began, the baron was sitting on the edge of his seat. As expected, the tunnels that had been abandoned in disuse for over a hundred years had turned into monster nests. The expedition had confirmed the presence of numerous goblin and orc villages as well as armored ant nests at the foothills of the White Dragon Mountains. A frown came over the baron’s face as he listened attentively.
“What about the transport roads?”
Merely killing off the monsters in the mines would not be enough, as there were also transport roads and facilities with blast furnaces necessary for processing mithril ore that needed to be kept safe. A rather sizable area would require a constant protective presence, which explained why the investigation had taken more than half a year.
According to the knight captain, many of the sites that used to be village housing for laborers involved with processing ore had now become breeding grounds for monsters. Similarly, many of the roads that connected those sites to Granvelle City were also swarming with them.
“So, how long would it actually take to wipe out all those monsters and restart mining operations?” This was the all-important question.
“Five years at the earliest, my lord. We would also need to gather miners and people to man the furnaces, so I’m afraid it could take even longer. Taking into account the time needed to rebuild the villages they would be living in, we may be looking at over ten years, my lord,” Zenof answered.
Sebas nodded to indicate that his own digging had also given him similar numbers.
However, the baron said, “We cannot wait five whole years. Can we not stagger the opening of the mines in order to get started sooner? For example, we can focus on getting the mine closest to Granvelle City up and running first.”
The White Dragon Mountains stretched north to south. The northernmost mine was located roughly the same latitude as Granvelle City, making it the closest. Thus the baron’s idea was to slowly clear the mines one by one, starting in the north and moving southward. The point he wanted to make was that there was no need to wait to open all four mines all at once.
“Of course, my lord. Even so, it would take three years.”
When he heard that he still had to wait three more years, the baron looked up and closed his eyes. He really was in a rush to get the mines back up and running.
“Th-Three years... I am aware I am pushing quite hard, but please make this happen as soon as possible.”
As I’d thought, they really are planning on starting from the north.
As Allen continued serving, he looked directly at the mine in question from high up in the sky using Sharing. He had ordered the Bird E in the Summons Squad to fly over the area and activate Hawk Eye. After confirming the location of this particular mine, he then ordered the Summon to circle around and look for surrounding goblin and orc settlements and armored ant nests.
The butler said, “I will send out a notice to gather those willing to relocate to the mining facilities.”
As the talk surrounding the mines themselves concluded, the baron changed topic and asked, “And what is the current situation over in Carnel?”
“According to reports, they attempted to continue mining and ended up angering the white dragon,” Zenof replied.
The way he put it, the dragon grew irritated at all the humans scurrying about nearby and so wiped out all the laborers with a breath attack.
Oof. I bet the white dragon probably has something like a superior version of Hawk Eye that enables it to see reeeally far. I’m so glad I never did get around to trying to sneak a peek at it.
Allen had yet to see the white dragon for himself. He could probably manage it by Sharing with a Bird E or Bird D, but he thought better of it. In light of what Hawk Eye could do and what he knew of the dragon’s behavior, he determined that it would be too dangerous to make an attempt.
The range of Hawk Eye was several kilometers. At this point, Allen had already realized that the white dragon’s new lair was actually closer to some of the Granvelle mines than the Carnel mines. However, whereas the latter were now completely off-limits, there was now no problem developing the former. Why was the monster ignoring distance and only allowing the Granvelle side to use their mines?
The conclusion that Allen came to was that the monster’s scouting ability likely could not see through obstacles, just like how Hawk Eye and Night Vision were unable to. The mountain itself served as one huge obstacle, blocking the dragon’s perception. That said, the dragon’s skill definitely reached much farther than Hawk Eye. It would be absolutely disastrous if Allen accidentally got too close with Bird E and provoked the dragon into chasing it back to the Granvelle side. He did not want to take this risk just to satisfy his own curiosity.
“Hm, so they did try to continue by force.” The baron’s expression was clouded.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Lord Carnel has been ignoring the Land Reclamation Decree all this time, citing that he has had his hands full with mithril mining.”
In other words, Viscount Carnel had been dangling the profits from mithril mining in front of the royal family’s face to convince them to permit shirking his duties, basically brute-forcing his way using the power of money. This did sort of make him sound a little crooked.
“We have confirmed that any further mithril mining in his fiefdom is now impossible.”
I guess it makes sense that they keep a close eye on their neighbor.
“He still has the wealth he’s amassed so far, but I expect him to burn through it next year,” the baron said before turning to Sebas. “There’s no telling what he might do afterward. He might even try to start something with us. Keep a steady eye on him and remain vigilant.”
“Yes, Master.”
“And I think you can already tell, but I’m saying this just in case: I have no intention of meeting Lord Carnel again. After all, this isn’t something that can be resolved merely through discourse.”
The butler bowed to acknowledge his master’s command to turn down all future requests for an audience from the Carnel family.
This was apparently the end of the report in the dining hall. The chivalric order would proceed to cull the monster population at the foot of the White Dragon Mountains, starting from the north and sweeping southward. The butler was to send out word to gather miners and laborers while also surveilling the realm of Carnel.
Since development will be starting from the north, I’ll also be killing the monsters from the north.
Allen’s plan of action going forward was decided. Through Hawk Eye, he had already spotted goblin, orc, and armored ant dwellings that numbered more than a hundred total.
I see. So this is going to be my focus in the coming two years.
A specific goal took shape inside Allen’s mind. Before he left the mansion to become an adventurer two years from now, he would clear away all the monsters nested at the foot of the White Dragon Mountains as his way of repaying everything the baron’s family had done for him. Since the baron wanted to begin mining mithril as soon as possible, Allen would help him do so. All the monsters in the way must be exterminated.
I’ll start with the weakest target: goblin villages.
This was precious XP that Allen was not willing to lose to the chivalric order. He resolved to get to work as soon as possible.