Hell Mode: Volume 2, page 13
part #2 of Hell Mode Series
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.
