Hell Mode: Volume 1, page 12
Just before Allen himself drifted off, Rodin finally came home. He had a conflicted look on his face. “I’m back.”
“Late day today, hm?” Theresia asked, setting out the belated dinner for her husband. Allen perked his ears to catch what he could from the nursery.
“Mm.”
“Did something happen?”
“I was called to the village chief’s house.”
“Yeah?”
“And he said he wanted us to accept a few commoners into our great boar hunting party.”
“Is...that a problem?”
Rodin paused, then said, almost as if to convince himself, “No, there’s no problem. Our whole group will still be there. It’s just that four or five new youngsters will be joining us, that’s all.”
That was the end of the topic, and the conversation returned to the usual exchange between the two. Allen burrowed under his blanket and allowed himself to fall asleep.
＊ ＊ ＊
Splash!
Allen woke up to the sound of the water in the family’s jug being poured out and refilled.
“Good morning, papa.”
“Oh? You’re up. Good morning to you too.”
Ever since coming to the world, Allen had been having trouble waking up early. It was only recently that he had managed to consistently get up at six in the morning without an alarm clock. He watched as Rodin performed his usual morning routine.
“Here you go, honey.”
“Thank you.”
Theresia was also awake. She handed Rodin a jute bag filled with dried meat and potatoes and a leather waterskin. He draped it over one shoulder and secured it.
There was a two-meter-long pole with a large, broad blade secured to one end currently propped against the wall in the room with the sunken fireplace. This was a spear tailor-made for great boar hunting that Rodin had borrowed from the village’s weapons shop the day before. He had spent all of last night carefully checking it and making sure there were no problems with it.
Rodin picked up the spear. “Well then, I’m off.”
“Are you going to be back late?” Theresia asked.
“We have newcomers today, so the plan is to do the hunt close by. I shouldn’t be out too late.”
With that, the man walked off into the slightly biting cold.
I wanna join the great boar hunt someday too. I need to level up, after all.
Allen’s level was currently still one, despite it having been six years since his reincarnation. The reason was simple: there had been no way for him to encounter any monsters. All serfs needed their village chief’s permission to step foot outside their village, and village chiefs almost never gave it. Events such as the great boar hunts, which were crucial to the village’s survival, were an exception. As a general rule, serfs had almost no freedom of movement.
After seeing Rodin off, Allen resumed his daily stone-throwing regimen.
It’s pretty much confirmed by now that it’ll take a million throws to reach the next level. I’ve already done more than 200,000 throws since the last level up and Throwing still hasn’t gone up.
By now, the stones that Allen used had become entirely smooth from all the throwing, but he still continued throwing them. Come rain or wind, he still threw them. Even Rodin and Theresia had not expected him to keep it up so religiously. When Rodin went to consult Gerda, he learned that Krena played knight every day as well and so was convinced that this was perhaps just how all children were.
With things being like this, normal skills are clearly not suitable for me. What I can gain from them is not worth the effort I have to put in.
By now, Allen’s Sword Mastery and Throwing were both at Lvl. 3. Based on what he knew, it would take repeating something 10,000 times to gain a skill from scratch, another 10,000 times to raise it to Lvl. 2, 100,000 times for Lvl. 3, with the numbers going up tenfold for each successive level.
At this rate, it would be difficult to get any skill to Lvl. 5 even if Allen spent his entire life working at it. In all likelihood, Lvl. 4 would be the best he could achieve. If each level up doubled the effects of the previous level or some other equally tremendous boon, then it might indeed have been worth all the effort. However, this was clearly not the case.
It’s true that the damage I’m dealing is greater than back when I didn’t have the respective skills. I don’t know for sure since there aren’t any damage counters, but going by feel, I’d say it’s only double what it was originally now that I’m at Lvl. 3. Given the case, it would be best for me to focus solely on Summoning. I can use a sword and throw stones when I need to in a pinch, but it’s about time to dial down how much I’m focusing on them. Especially now that I know the effect of Grass F’s Ability isn’t to just make a nice smell.
Allen looked toward the one-meter-tall sapling giving off an essence-oil-like fragrance that he was standing next to. It emitted a pure and relaxing scent that he wanted to continue smelling forever.
He looked down at his grimoire.
Yep, the time it takes for my MP to recover has definitely gone down from six hours to five hours.
Ever since Allen first planted the Grass F tree in the garden, the number of times that he could gain Skill XP by using MP each day had gone up from three to four.
For the past five years, he had been earning Skill XP in cycles of once every six hours. If he really pushed himself to do four reps in a day, he had to do it once late at night, once early in the morning, once right after lunch, and once in the evening. However, he would have no choice but to revert to three reps or fewer the next day.
After planting Grass F, however, Allen had managed four repetitions every day for three days in a row. Upon careful observation, he determined that the time it took for his MP to recover to full had changed to five hours. This was huge for his leveling progress.
Well, I think I’ve learned everything I can about Appo’s Ability.
Allen did a final once-over of his notes on Grass F inside his grimoire.
It releases a nice smell that induces restful sleep.
It shortens the recovery period of MP to 5 hours.
After its Ability is used once, both the card and the Summon disappear (turns into a tree).
One thing different about Grass F was that its Ability could only be used once. After being activated, it was no longer a Summon nor a card. It was quite literally just a tree. Of course, it was fully visible. It could be touched. It could be replanted.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Allen! It’s almost time for lunch!”
“Coming, mama!”
Although the Rank F Summons had been unlocked, there was still quite a lot about them that Allen could not explore in full. For example, Beast F had an Ability named Chomp, but he could not very well direct it to go bite a random person or even himself. As such, there was no way for him to confirm the effectiveness of the attack.
“A’en, no mo’!”
“Okay, Mash, I’m sorry.”
Because Allen had been outside by himself for more than two hours, Mash glomped onto him as soon as he came back inside. There were still two more months until he turned three and could join Allen out in the garden. If he was left inside the house by himself for too long, he would get huffy.
It doesn’t seem like I’m going to get much out of throwing stones for more than an hour each day. It would take more than five years to reach the next level, plus I have to look after Mash too, so I guess it’s about time to move on.
Allen dug into a steamed potato while racking his brains for something that he could do together with Mash.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Today was fun, Allen! Did you get stronger?”
“I guess.”
Though I’m still no match for her. A Sword Lord is just way too strong. Kuhhhh!
The afternoon playing knight session had just ended. Just as she had been doing for the past three years, Krena dashed off back home. Only on the rare occasions when she got express permission to sleep at Allen’s house did she stay overnight.
After the total number of cards that he could stock went up to thirty, Allen had promptly Created more cards to fill in those newly added slots. Now, although he was still carrying out various experiments and had reserved a significant portion of those slots toward increasing his MP, his fighting strength had also been bolstered quite a bit.
His current card distribution was as follows:
Beast F x 11
Insect F x 2
Bird F x 2
Grass F x 15
Consequently, the buff to his Attack had reached as high as +55. Krena, who had been playing knight with Allen for three whole years, had felt the slight change.
Now that Allen had finished studying the Rank F Summons to the extent of his abilities he had taken to focusing solely on leveling Strengthening.
Hmm, Strengthening is almost Lvl. 2. I should level up tomorrow at this rate.
Allen was absolutely over the moon at how much faster he was earning Skill XP thanks to Grass F.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Papa’s kind of late, isn’t he?” Theresia murmured next to Allen as the two of them were making dinner together. It was indeed getting late. On days when Rodin went hunting, he would normally be back home around this time. He had even said that today’s hunt would be at a nearby spot.
“Mm. Papa’s late.”
The two of them had thought to prepare a slightly more sumptuous meal than usual to celebrate Rodin coming home from the successful hunt. However, no matter how long they waited, he still did not come home. Because Mash could not wait too long, the family had to start eating without Rodin.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Another hour passed, and the six o’clock bell rang.
“How much longer will he be?” Theresia was understandably starting to get worried. When Allen came back out into the main room after tucking Mash into bed, she turned to him and said, “Allen, hun, you don’t have to wait up. Papa’s been back late from hunting before, hasn’t he?”
“But he said he would be early today.”
“So he did. We’re blessed to have a son who cares so deeply about us.”
Theresia ruffled Allen’s hair.
＊ ＊ ＊
Another two hours had passed. It was now completely dark outside.
“Oh! He’s finally back!”
They heard the voice of someone approaching the house, prompting Theresia and Allen to peek outside. They spotted a dot of light against the dark, inky night. The light, which was likely a torch, was very tiny, indicating that it was still rather far away.
This is quite late. But I’m glad papa made it home safe and sound.
Slowly but surely, the light drew closer. As it did, it became apparent that it was not just one light, but two.
Hm? He’s not alone?
The lights then split into three. Then four. As they got closer and closer, their numbers grew and grew, until eventually they had become ten distinct lights.
Shouts came over the wind. Allen’s chest tightened with a sense of foreboding. When he looked to the side, he saw from her face that Theresia was feeling the same way.
When the procession was almost at the house, Gerda’s voice shouted, “Rodin! It’s your house! You’re home!”
Theresia was off before she knew it, rushing toward the approaching torches. Allen was right on her heels.
When she got close enough, however, Theresia froze in her tracks. She clapped her hands over her mouth in shock at the unbelievable sight before her eyes. Her body quivered violently.
“P-Papa...?”
Rodin had indeed come home, but on a stretcher being lifted by several men. The torches illuminated his figure with a harsh, flickering light. The hemp rags wrapped around his body were stained completely black and were hardened from an unbelievable amount of blood.
Chapter 7: Allen’s Resolve
“H-Honey? This isn’t happening, right? R-Rodin! N-NOOOOOOOO!!!”
Rodin had come home on a makeshift stretcher of mere sticks and cloth, completely covered with blood. Theresia rushed over to his side, but his eyes were closed and he was not moving. He remained unresponsive no matter how much she screamed and cried.
“Theres— Theresia! Calm down!” Gerda shouted before adopting a softer tone. “It’s all right. We used herbs on him.”
“What? How can yo— Are y—” Theresia struggled to understand how Gerda could spout such empty consolations.
“I mean it. We used a Flower of Muellerze. His life isn’t in danger anymore. But he does need to rest.”
“There’s no way th— How did you afford...?”
The price of the herb that Gerda had mentioned was far too high for serfs to afford. However, he repeatedly reassured Theresia that they had indeed bought and used one. The other men carefully carried Rodin into the house and lowered him into his bed. There were about twenty men here, which roughly matched the number of serfs that Allen knew was in the hunting party. This was probably everyone who had participated in today’s hunt.
“Bes, Bodro, can you go grab some water?”
“Sure thing.”
“’Kay.”
Gerda was giving out instructions in place of Theresia, who was beside herself. Understanding that Gerda meant to get some hot water going, Allen went to start a fire in the fireplace. Although he was also in a state of bewilderment, he tried to do what he could.
How did this happen?!
“Everyone else, you can go grab your meat and head on home. We’re good here.”
All the men exclaimed, “What?!” in unison, as if offended by the very idea. Mash, who had woken up due to the commotion, started crying from the shock of seeing so many strangers in the house. Theresia picked him up and stroked his head, trying to calm him back down.
Gerda gave the men a look. “Now you know what I mean, right? This many people being here is just a bother. I’ll take care of the rest, so you guys go home.”
The men all mumbled their understanding.
“And I don’t think I need to say this, but don’t do anything rash, all right?”
Bes, who had just come back in with the water, gasped with furious indignation. “Wha—?! Things ended up like this because of those damned commoners! You think so too, don’t you, Gerda?! We gotta make them pay!”
Everyone else raised their voices in agreement, causing the atmosphere to slowly take on a dangerous air. The light from the torches outside shone off of the spears currently propped against the wall, giving them an uncanny glint. Mash broke into a fresh bout of crying.
“Bes, I said I’ll take care of this. Grab your meat and go home. You hear me? I want your word.”
“F-Fine...”
Gerda’s steely growl was filled with a different anger than Bes’s. Just because he was holding the others back, it did not mean he was calm either. The silent pressure that he was emanating overwhelmed Bes and the other serfs, causing them to back down obediently. The men left final words of consolation before heading back out into the night. Soon, Gerda was the only person left.
Gerda helped as Theresia peeled away Rodin’s bloodstained clothes. When she saw the scar on her husband’s abdomen, however, she gasped in shock. It was as if his belly had been torn apart and then forcefully fused back together.
“I told you, didn’t I? The Flower of Muellerze really did its job. We were lucky that the herbalist happened to have one in stock,” Gerda said softly as he helped wipe Rodin down with a rag soaked in warm water.
“But how did you afford such a precious herb?” Theresia asked. She seemed to have calmed down slightly from seeing Rodin’s chest slowly rising and falling with a steady rhythm.
“Well...when the knights came that time, I received a few gold coins. Turns out stashing them away’d been the right call after all.”
Allen came out of the nursery after having tucked Mash—who had exhausted himself crying—back into bed. In a hard, clear voice, he asked, “What happened? Was it really a commoner who did this?”
Both Theresia and Gerda looked over in surprise. No child ever spoke the way Allen was now speaking. The boy stared straight at Gerda, his eyes filled with anger at the fate that had befallen his father.
Gerda held his gaze for a short while, then sighed. “The story’s kinda long. Can you get me some water to drink?”
Allen grabbed a wooden cup and filled it from the family jug. Gerda gulped it all down in one go, clearly having been feeling parched.
“The village chief’s been asking us for several years now to let commoners into our hunting team.”
The group had always been the same twenty or so men, and they were all serfs. Some of them did not think very kindly of commoners. The reward for great boar hunting was meat—each participant would receive almost ten whole kilograms from each hunt. There were also roughly fifty people who helped with just the butchering, and they would receive a third of what the hunters got. All of these people were serfs too.
Serfs did the hunting, serfs did the butchering, and serfs ate the meat. The only way the commoners could get their hands on some of the meat was when a serf came to exchange it for other necessities such as firewood and salt. Naturally, this was not much. Otherwise, commoners who wanted meat had to buy it from the village chief. However, this was meat from a Rank C monster, and the price was accordingly prohibitive. As such, the majority of what came to the village chief would simply be processed and sent straight to the feudal lord’s city.
“There’s demand for meat among the commoners, and the village chief himself also wanted to expand the hunts to include them. The problem, however, is that none of them volunteered themselves.”
Going hunting, of course, meant fighting directly with monsters. It was not as if this was easy for the serfs either; there had been casualties over the past ten years of hunting. Even so, the serfs kept it up. The reason why they repeatedly exposed themselves to such danger was a no-brainer—it was all for the sake of their families.
