Chapter 27
Allen was alone in the center of the fallow field, pinning down an Alba Heron.
"That was close. I never expected two of them to come down at once. I thought I was going to die. Well, none of my Summons were defeated, so I won without losing a single one."
He couldn't help talking to himself.
He'd gone with Gerda to the Village Chief's house to ask about how taxes on Alba Herons worked. After that, he kept hunting Alba Herons once every three days. Apparently, if three Insect Gs taunted one while it was flying overhead, it would fly into a rage and come down to the ground.
They wouldn't come down if he used only one or two Insect Gs, and they wouldn't come down unless they were flying overhead. It also seemed that Taunt only worked on magic beasts. So far, no non-magic-beast birds, like red-crowned cranes, had come down even when they were flying overhead.
・Wait for an Alba Heron to appear in the sky
・Taunt it with three Insect Gs
・Once it comes down, turn the three Insect Gs back into cards before they get defeated
・Latch onto it with two Insect Fs
・Weaken it by throwing stones, then surround it with sixteen Beast Fs and pull it down
・Pin its neck down with a wooden sword and finish it off
He'd struggled in his first battle, but once he understood his Summons' Special Abilities, he'd won every battle since without a scratch. He'd found his winning strategy.
Today, when he went out to catch one, two of them came down at the same time. Come to think of it, Alba Herons sometimes flew alone and sometimes in flocks.
(Maybe I should make more Insect F Chus. I don't want anything to go wrong.)
As he was thinking, the Grimoire began to glow faintly. He'd been pinning down the bird's neck with his wooden sword and had just finished it off.
"Yes! I leveled up!!"
He couldn't help shouting to himself this time. Silver text saying he'd defeated it appeared in the Grimoire, followed by yellow text.
'You defeated one Alba Heron. You gained 100 experience.'
'Your experience has reached 1,000/1,000. Your level has increased to 2. Your Health has increased by 25. Your Magic has increased by 40. Your Attack has increased by 14. Your Endurance has increased by 14. Your Agility has increased by 26. Your Intelligence has increased by 40. Your Luck has increased by 26.'
(Th-This is crazy! My stats went way up. No wonder they're on par with a Sword Saint's. Still, the increases for S-rank and C-rank stats are quite different. I see, I see.)
He checked his updated stats.
【Name】 Allen
【Age】 6
【Job】 Summoner
【Level】 2
【Health】 39 (65) +80
【Magic】 36 (60) +35
【Attack】 14 (24) +80
【Endurance】 14 (24) +16
【Agility】 30 (51) +26
【Intelligence】 42 (70) +10
【Luck】 30 (51) +35
【Skills】 Summon〈3〉, Create〈3〉, Synthesis〈3〉, Enhancement〈2〉, Expansion〈2〉, Delete, Swordsmanship〈3〉, Throwing〈3〉
【Experience】 0/2,000
・Skill Levels
【Summon】 3
【Create】 3
【Synthesis】 3
【Enhancement】 2
・Skill Experience
【Create】 11,933/100,000
【Synthesis】 2,610/100,000
【Enhancement】 1,480/10,000
・Available Summons
【Insect】 FGH
【Beast】 FGH
【Bird】 FG
【Plant】 F
・Holder
【Insect】 2 F cards, 3 G cards
【Beast】 16 F cards
【Bird】 2 F cards
【Plant】 7 F cards
(I see. Leveling up fully restores my Health and Magic.)
Whenever his Summon Skill leveled up, he was usually low on Magic, so seeing it completely restored was a new experience.
(The increased stats are added to the values in parentheses, then multiplied by 0.6? So I don't get the full level-up increase as-is. This system is strict.)
He checked the stat increases while looking at the Grimoire.
(It took six years, but I finally leveled up. In this world, don't they say that leveling up means overcoming or completing a trial given by God?)
Leveling up reminded him of something. Rodan was much stronger than an ordinary person. The buckets he used to carry water from the water-drawing place to the jar at home were quite large, too. He'd probably leveled up after hunting dozens of Great Boars.
Allen had once asked how he could become as strong as his father. Rodan had told him that God gave people trials, and when they overcame them, God granted them strength. That seemed to be how people in this world understood leveling up—and part of their faith in God.
(Oh, right. It's almost time for her to come. I need to hurry back.)
In a rush, he laid the second Alba Heron on top of the first one he'd defeated. He'd carry them both home together. He didn't have much time.
"I'm home!"
"Oh! Welcome back."
Telesia answered, trying not to sound surprised. Allen had brought home an Alba Heron again today—and this time, there were two.
"You caught another one today?"
Rodan called out from the earthen-floored entryway.
"Yeah, Father. Are you all right, though?"
Rodan had gotten a lot better over the past month. He could sit and stand now, but if he stood or moved around for too long, his stomach started to hurt. He was sitting down now, beating the straw from the harvested wheat with a stick. They softened it by beating it like this, then wove it into straw sandals and winter boots.
Allen was worried that hitting the straw with such a large club might reopen Rodan's wounds.
"Yeah, but I can't make you do everything, Allen..."
Rodan looked at Allen and froze. He seemed to have noticed something different about him.
"Huh? Father?"
"No, it's nothing. Must've been my imagination."
(Huh? What was that about?)
Just then...
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
"Oh! That's right, I need to hang them up before Krena gets here."
With that, Allen carried the Alba Herons outside toward the narrow irrigation channel. A simple rack for draining their blood had been set up there.
It was a little over two meters tall, a simple structure made from spare poles and boards around the house. He hung the Alba Herons upside down from it, cut their necks, and let their blood drain into the irrigation channel.
"Alleeen!"
Krena came running over, full of energy. She was gripping her wooden sword.
"Hey, Krena. Wait just a moment, okay? I'll be done soon."
He played with Krena every day, usually from a little after one until four. But he hunted once every three days, so he'd told her to come after the three o'clock bell on those days. By then, he'd have caught the birds and hung them over the irrigation channel.
While he was working on the two Alba Herons, Krena came over.
"Allen, amazing! You caught two today!"
She looked at him with sparkling eyes. Krena wasn't afraid of magic beasts at all. Thinking that timid Mash could learn a thing or two from her, Allen quickly finished getting both birds ready to drain their blood.
They played for about an hour, then Krena went home. Mash watched them from the window. He wouldn't be allowed outside until next spring. He'd be three soon.
(At least I've met my quota of ten.)
Butchering one bird had yielded a hunk of meat about equal to the reward for one boar hunt. With ten of them, they should have enough to get through the winter. Now he just had to make jerky and trade it for firewood and other things.
(The Alba Herons will stop flying next month, so I should hunt as many as I can this month. I need twenty more to reach the next level. Getting to Level 3 by the end of the year might be tough.)
"You're wide open!"
Even while playing pretend, Allen had been lost in thought when someone tapped him on the head.
"Ow!"
"Hey! You can't space out!!"
Krena puffed out her cheeks because Allen wasn't taking the game seriously. Rubbing his head, Allen apologized.