Hell Mode: Volume 1, page 4
“Monsta stong?”
“This is a Rank C monster. Even we’d have to run away if we ran into anything stronger than this.”
He did mention they were a hunting party of twenty men. So as a general estimate, I can assume that twenty men would be needed to take down a Rank C monster.
As Allen continued observing what he could of the butchering from his position within Rodin’s arms, someone else came over to let Rodin know that his share was ready. Together, they walked toward a corner of the square. The man picked up a large chunk of meat tied up with string and handed it to Rodin.
That’s huge. It weighs, what, ten kilograms, maybe? So the reward for hunting great boars is meat. Ahhh, which means the dried meat that appears in our meals every now and then must be great boar meat?
Rodin accepted the package with the hand not cradling Allen. There were several other men also holding chunks of meat, indicating they had likely been part of the hunting party.
“You had enough yet, Allen? Theresia’s waiting for us, so let’s go home.”
“Mm!”
With that, the father and son turned around and headed back the way they had come.
＊ ＊ ＊
A year and ten months had passed since Allen was first born into this world. Two months from now he would turn two.
Thanks to being blessed with loving parents, he grew up quickly and healthily. Just a while ago he had become fully weaned. Although the family was poor, Rodin and Theresia poured everything they had into bringing up Allen. He had started thinking that this, too, was a form of happiness.
The lifestyle of a serf was not all that terrible. According to Allen’s knowledge from his previous world, there were two things that defined a serf: the lack of freedom to choose a profession and the inability to own land. This was a system that had been quite common up until the 19th century. From what he observed, the serfs in this world also seemed to be under similar restrictions.
Furthermore, Allen had figured out within the past ten months that this world’s calendar was also split into twelve months per year. Each month had thirty days, and these thirty days were further divided into five weeks of six days each.
What’s more, there were four seasons, with the environment changing according to whether it was spring, summer, fall, or winter. There was snowfall in winter, at least enough to make Allen’s house—which had negligible insulation, being little more than a shack—quite cold.
Memories of the past ten months flashed by in an instant as Allen stared at the lines of text currently displayed on the cover of his grimoire. Although the cover itself was jet-black, whenever Allen used a skill or there was a change to his Status, a notification would appear in silver letters, rather like the system log of a game.
And within the lines of silver, there was now one that shone gold. Going forward, Allen was going to associate this color with happiness.
“HELL YEAAAAHHHHH!!!”
This was the moment when Allen, as a gamer, finally felt rewarded for all his prior effort. He did not care anymore about the bland food or cold winters. Thanks to it being summer, Theresia was currently out in the fields with Rodin, so he could whoop as loudly as he wanted.
Oh my god, where do I even start? Right, Status! What’s my Status like now?!
There were plenty of things that Allen wanted to examine regarding the golden text on the cover of his grimoire, but he decided to first see what changes had come with the level up.
* * *
Name: Allen
Age: 1
Class: Summoner
Level: 1
HP: 4 (40) + 8
MP: 0 (20)
Attack: 1 (10) + 8
Endurance: 1 (10) + 2
Agility: 2 (25) + 2
Intelligence: 3 (30)
Luck: 2 (25)
Skills: Summoning {2}, Creation {2}, Synthesis {1}, Expansion {1}, Deletion
XP: 0/1,000
Skill Levels
Summoning: 2
Creation: 2
Synthesis: 1
Skill Experience
Creation: 0/10,000
Synthesis: 0/1,000
Creatable Summons
Insect: GH
Beast: GH
???: G
Holder
Insect: H x 2
Beast: H x 8
???:
* * *
Th-This is... Whoa, what’s this new “???” field?
There were so many exciting new changes that Allen found himself frozen with indecision for a short while. He gripped the grimoire with his small, chubby hands and simply stared at it for fifteen minutes.
No, stop, calm down. Uh, so, Creation has gone up, Summoning has gone up, and now I can Summon Rank G creatures? So maybe the higher Summoning becomes, the more variety of Summons will be available? I really want to try Creating the newly added Summons right now, but I’m out of MP. So that will have to wait until later. Let’s see what we can learn about everything else then.
All right, first, “Synthesis.” Does this mean I’ll be able to Synthesize Summons? They’re usually kept in card form, so if I combine cards together, it’ll give me a completely different Summon? But to try it out, I’d also need MP, and...yep, it’s still at 0.
Okay, next. To level up Creation again, I’d need 10,000 Skill XP. Why the hell is it ten times higher?! Even if I manage to maintain a pace of Creating three cards a day, it’d still take me four and a half years. That’s way too long. Maybe I should look for a way to raise my overall level to gain more MP.
As for “Expansion”... Oh! There are now twenty total impressions inside the grimoire! Since I get stat bonuses from each card I have in stock, being able to stock twice the number of cards means I can double the buffs from before! Nice!
And lastly, what’s this about the “Memo” function? Oooo, there’re blank pages labeled “Memo” now. And it picks up on my thoughts and automatically dictates them! Sweet! This is going to be so convenient. Maybe all the prayers I sent up really did reach the gods.
Well then, I think that’s about it for now. My MP is still at 0, so let’s nap, then continue this tonight.
Allen dozed off once again, warmed not only by the noontime sun but also by the knowledge of all the blessings that leveling up had brought him.
＊ ＊ ＊
As soon as Rodin and Theresia arrived home, they left their farming equipment in the earthen-floored area and used water from a large jug to wash the dirt off their hands. After washing their faces as well, they took a few gulps. Every morning, Rodin refilled this jug at the well. The family also used this water to do their cooking.
“Were you a good boy, Allen, hon? I’ll have dinner ready soon.” By now, Theresia’s baby talk had decreased by quite a bit. It was apparently a conscious decision made for Allen’s sake, considering how his weaning period had ended.
“Yes, mama,” Allen replied.
Just as Theresia promised, dinner was done in no time at all. As cooking here in Rodin’s family rarely involved using spices and condiments, it was mostly a matter of boiling or grilling. It was Rodin’s job to crush the greens, beans, or potatoes that Allen would be eating. Once everything was ready, the family simply dug in without saying grace or praying over the food. Since this village was rather isolated, conversation over the dinner table usually revolved around the same few topics.
“Oh, right, Gerda mentioned that Krena’s getting so active that she’s becoming quite a handful. He asked if Allen could become her playmate.”
“Hm?” Allen looked up, recalling the pink-haired child that he had seen in the arms of the man named Gerda. Oh right, we have neighbors. Although I haven’t seen them since that time with the great boar.
The fields tilled by the frontier villagers were quite expansive, so despite technically being neighbors, Gerda’s house was much too far for Allen, who had not turned two yet, to travel to by himself. In addition, Theresia and Rodin were still insistent on not letting him out of the house by himself, so he obediently stayed home. Because of this, Allen had only seen their “neighbors” once.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Theresia replied happily. “The two of them might get married in the future, so I hope they get along well!”
Allen and Krena were of the same age, and their parents were already close. In the insular world of serfs, it was quite common for children under such circumstances to marry each other.
“I can go outside?” Allen asked, perking up.
Theresia ruffled his hair. “Once you become three, all right?”
Unfortunately, his ban on going outside was still in place until he turned three, even if it was to visit their neighbor’s house.
＊ ＊ ＊
After their peaceful dinner was over, Allen returned to his room.
Heh heh heh, my MP’s recovered! Without further ado, let’s get started. Hmm, should I try Synthesis, or should I try Creating a Rank G card? All right, let’s go with Synthesis!
Out came the grimoire. As soon as Allen strongly thought, Synthesize! the pages started flapping. It turned to a spread where the left page had two impressions and the right had a single impression.
Does this mean I’m supposed to combine two cards together into one? I’m not sure what the conditions are for Synthesizing. Well, if it’s all the same, let’s start with two Beast H cards.
Allen took two Beast H cards out of their holders and slotted them into this page.
Synthesize!
However, nothing happened.
Did I do it wrong?
Allen checked the log on the front of the grimoire. He had developed the habit of doing this often, as a notification would appear there whenever anything happened. And sure enough, there was a new message.
“Wha—?! Not enough?!” Allen inadvertently cried out loud. He clapped his hands over his mouth in a fluster. As it turned out, 2 MP was not enough to use the Synthesis skill.
Wait, is that it? Even my max MP isn’t enough. Um, okay, what about Creating a Rank G card?
As he was unsure what “???” was, Allen decided to attempt Creating a Beast G card.
Create: Beast G!
Again, nothing happened. And again, there was a message on the front cover.
Whaaaat?! My current MP isn’t enough to cast Synthesis or Create Rank G cards?!
Allen found himself at a complete loss. As it turned out, there was still a lot that he could not do despite having leveled up.
Chapter 3: Krena and Playing Knight
When Allen turned three, he finally received permission from Theresia to go outside, with the condition that he stayed near the house. His birthday was October 1 according to the calendar of this world. This was also the day of the village’s Harvest Festival, which was the reason why the dinner table was always especially bountiful on his birthdays. He did not particularly mind—if asked, he would say that it felt as if he was getting to celebrate Christmas and his birthday together at the same time.
Speaking of the Harvest Festival, here in this world, this was not an occasion involving the villagers gathering in the village square and dancing around a bonfire. Rather, it was a day when the village chief went to a religious facility called a “church” to give offerings to the deity of abundant harvest. Naturally, serfs had no part in such a ritual; in fact, Rodin had even gone out on a hunt on the day of Allen’s first birthday.
Over the past three years, Allen had learned quite a lot about being a serf. For example, he now knew that sixty percent of their harvest was supposed to be paid to their village chief, who would then arrange to have it passed along to their domain lord as tax. This frontier village had enjoyed lowered taxes for a certain number of years after its founding, but that period had just expired and they were now taxed in full. However, because tax was percentage-based, the more they harvested, the more they would get to keep for themselves. On the flip side, if someone’s harvest was poor or if they attempted to evade paying the tax, they would be made a slave, a status even lower than serf.
After sixty percent was garnished as tax, however, it was not as if the remaining forty was all for direct consumption. Part of this remainder, together with the meat from the hunts, had to be used to barter for other necessities, such as salt and the cloth used as Allen’s diapers. This world—or at least, this area of this world—had all four seasons. Although it was not as if there would be fierce blizzards during the winter, it would still snow enough to paint the entire landscape white. As such, firewood was crucial for keeping warm. About half of each ten-kilogram block of meat Rodin brought back usually went toward buying firewood.
Commerce among serfs here in this frontier village was largely barter-based. However, it was not as if they never saw money. Allen remembered that when he had broken out into a high fever during February this year, Rodin had pried up one of the floorboards in the nursery, revealing a small stash of coins that he then quickly left the house with. When he’d returned, he had made Allen drink what was likely medicine meant to help lower the fever.
At that time, he must have used the large majority of their savings, as there were only a few copper and iron coins left underneath the floorboard. There were also five pebble-like objects inside the stash that were apparently magic stones dropped by horned rabbits. This incident had been Allen’s first exposure to this world’s currency and magic stones.
Right now, Allen was sitting with his back to the tree that was growing in their garden. Although it was not all that huge, it provided sufficient cover. The fence surrounding their house was quite easy to peek through, and he wanted a way to hide from passing eyes as he focused on analyzing his class.
Well, it looks like that’s all I can learn about Synthesis Lvl. 1 and Creation Lvl. 2.
When he turned three, his max MP had gone up, which allowed him to finally experiment with Synthesis and the next level of Creation. This included finding out the details of the Rank G cards that he now had at his disposal.
To sum up the results of his observations:
Using Creation Lvl. 2 costs 5 MP.
Using Synthesis Lvl. 1 costs 5 MP.
Combining Insect G with Beast G leads to Bird G.
He had noted down everything he had learned inside his grimoire and was largely finished with his analysis. With a Bird G resting on his shoulder, he took a look at his Status.
* * *
Name: Allen
Age: 3
Class: Summoner
Level: 1
HP: 12 (40) + 26
MP: 1 (20)
Attack: 3 (10) + 26
Endurance: 3 (10) + 6
Agility: 7 (25) + 10
Intelligence: 9 (30) + 4
Luck: 7 (25)
Skills: Summoning {2}, Creation {2}, Synthesis {1}, Expansion {1}, Deletion
XP: 0/1,000
Skill Levels
Summoning: 2
Creation: 2
Synthesis: 1
Skill Experience
Creation: 4,701/10,000
Synthesis: 20/1,000
Creatable Summons
Insect: G, H
Beast: G, H
Bird: G
Holder
Insect: G x 2, H x 2
Beast: G x 12, H x 2
Bird: G x 2
* * *
Hmm, what should I do next? I’ve just confirmed that the amount of MP spent is indeed a one-to-one ratio to the amount of Skill XP gained. In that case, rather than using Creation Lvl. 2 or Synthesis Lvl. 1, it’d probably be a better use of my MP to spam Creation Lvl. 1 and grind toward Creation Lvl. 3. Otherwise, I would have unused leftover MP and that would just be a waste.
Currently, Allen’s max MP was 6. Each cast of Creation Lvl. 1 cost 2 MP, whereas Creation Lvl. 2 and Synthesis Lvl. 1 both cost 5 MP. Clearly, using Creation Lvl. 1 was the most efficient option for converting his MP into Skill XP.
Well, that should do for skill leveling. Next is...
“Hey, Allen,” Allen said toward the bird on his shoulder before mentally giving it an order.
“Yep, I’m Allen!” the bird replied.
Nice! Looks like the Summons suddenly got a lot more useful upon hitting Rank G.
The Statuses of the three new Summons were as follows:
* * *
Type: Insect
Rank: G
Name: Hopper
HP: 7
MP: 0
Attack: 6
Endurance: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 7
Luck: 8
Buffs: Endurance 2, Agility 2
Ability: Provoke
* * *
Type: Beast
Rank: G
Name: Moley
HP: 10
MP: 0
Attack: 10
Endurance: 6
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 7
Luck: 6
Buffs: HP 2, Attack 2
Ability: Dig
* * *
Type: Bird
Rank: G
Name: Chappy
HP: 7
MP: 0
Attack: 5
Endurance: 6
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Luck: 8
Buffs: Agility 2, Intelligence 2
Ability: Voice Mimic
* * *
Their stats were still quite low and, just like the Rank H Summons, the Rank G ones also did not listen to orders. However, what caught Allen’s attention were their Abilities.
Bird G was capable of perfectly reproducing Allen’s voice. The degree of mimicry was far beyond what normal parrots could achieve, with the only limitation being that Chappy could not remember anything too long or overly complicated.
