Chapter 38
Gerda stepped down from the living room into the earthen-floored entryway. Gerda was so large that when the two of them lay facing each other, part of Gerda's body stuck out over the edge of the floor. Their arm-wrestling match was about to begin.
(Now, can I win?)
These were Allen's current stats.
【Name】 Allen
【Age】 7
【Job】 Summoner
【Level】 6
【Health】 115 (165) +150
【Magic】 154 (220)
【Attack】 56 (80) +150
【Endurance】 56 (80)
【Agility】 108 (155)
【Intelligence】 161 (230)
【Luck】 108 (155)
【Skills】 Summon <3>, Creation <3>, Synthesis <3>, Enhancement <3>, Expansion <2>, Delete, Swordsmanship <3>, Throwing <3>
【Experience】 0 / 6,000
・Skill Levels
【Summon】 3
【Creation】 3
【Synthesis】 3
【Enhancement】 3
・Skill Experience
【Creation】 60,652 / 100,000
【Synthesis】 60,628 / 100,000
【Enhancement】 60,640 / 100,000
・Available Summons
【Insect】 FGH
【Beast】 FGH
【Bird】 FG
【Plant】 F
・Holder
【Insect】
【Beast】 30 F cards
【Bird】
【Plant】
He'd changed all his cards to Beast F cards for this day. He'd also raised his level to 6.
Thanks to catching dozens of Alba Herons, everyone in the village knew who Allen was. He'd become impossible to miss.
He'd also watched every boar hunt. Of course, he hadn't merely watched. He'd instructed the serfs and commoners on how to hunt. New protective gear designed under Allen's supervision was scheduled to be ready by this autumn.
Allen thought there were only two ways he could live.
Stand out, even if in a bad way, and make sure he leveled up so he could survive.
Or remain weak and low-level in a world set to Hell Mode.
Only Allen was in Hell Mode. Even if he did as much as an ordinary person, his stats would be rated E. It took a hundred times the effort to reach the stats of a Summoner, as God had informed him through the grimoire.
He believed that even if he stood out a little, it was worth leveling up as he wanted and getting stronger. Rodan's serious injury had reminded him how important leveling up was.
He figured it would be fine as long as he didn't stand out so much that the royal family or nobility took an interest in him. He'd been appraised as talentless, with E in every stat, so there shouldn't be a problem.
He would earn his place in the boar hunt with his own hands. Allen stared at Gerda with firm resolve. Gerda looked back at Allen, seeming to wonder if he was really taking things that seriously. Gerda, too, seemed ready to give it everything.
"This is how we're supposed to do it, right?"
Gerda lay down beside Allen, put an elbow on the earthen floor, and clasped hands with him.
"Yeah, yeah. All right, Krena, you be the referee."
"Got it!!!"
Krena was made the referee. She placed her hand over the hands the two of them had clasped. Allen had already explained the proper way to referee at the village chief's house.
"All right, begin!!!"
"Hngh!!"
At Krena's signal, both of them immediately put all their strength into it. The muscles in Gerda's thick arm looked ready to burst.
"Grrrr..."
Allen and Gerda strained with all their might, their faces turning bright red.
"Wha—?!"
Gerda couldn't help letting out a cry. This was more strength than a seven-year-old boy should have.
Rodan watched the match with a tense expression. Telesia and Michilda were also astonished that Allen could be so strong.
Allen was pushing Gerda's hand down. It was happening very slowly, but he was inching closer to victory.
"D-Damn it! I loooost!!!"
Gerda had lost.
(Crap, that was close. From the feel of it, Gerda-san's Attack must be somewhere between 150 and 200.)
Allen shook his arm out to ease the fatigue. There was still one more person he had to beat.
Rodan stared at Allen with a stern expression.
As he let his arm recover, Allen recalled what had happened.
He'd gained 6,800 Experience from 17 Great Boars.
The second time, too, he'd gained 400 Experience, and every hunt after that had given him 400.
Even as the number of participants in the boar hunts grew from 24 to 40, Experience stayed at 400. He'd thought the Experience would decrease as the number of people increased, but apparently there was some kind of rule governing how it was distributed.
He really wanted to know whether that 400 Experience would change if he held a spear and attacked. Maybe he could get twice as much Experience.
Rodan took off his light-brown top. It seemed he was going to fight seriously. His muscles were well developed, and his body had been honed by gripping a hoe from morning until night every day.
"I'll wait until your arm recovers."
It seemed Rodan intended to wait until Allen had recovered. He planned to beat Allen at full strength.
"Th-Thanks."
It took a few minutes for Allen's arm to recover completely. He made sure to take a proper break and let his muscles recover from the fatigue.
Once he was ready, he went into his match against Rodan, the fourth bout of the day.
They both lay on their stomachs on the earthen floor, planted their elbows, and clasped hands.
(Somehow, this is the first time I've held Dad's hand this tightly.)
He couldn't remember ever holding his hand so firmly before. Rodan's hands, which gripped a hoe day after day, were rough and calloused. An emotion Allen couldn't quite identify stirred in him.
"..."
Rodan also seemed to have something he wanted to say. It might have been years since he'd held his son's hand.
Once they were in position, Krena placed her hand on top of the hands they'd clasped.
Allen glanced at Telesia. She was desperately hoping Rodan would win. If Rodan lost, too, Allen would be fighting Great Boars with a spear this autumn.
Apparently, no one was cheering for Allen.
"All right, here we go! Begin!!!"
"Hngh!!!"
At the starting signal, both of them put all their strength into it.
Veins bulged in Rodan's muscles. His face turned bright red as he strained with all his might.
(Whoa, this could be bad. S-Seriously?)
Rodan was stronger than Allen had expected. Allen had switched all his cards to Beast F, increasing his Attack by 150. His Attack was nearly 200, but Rodan was showing even greater strength.
Allen was slowly pushed back.
Then Allen lost without putting up much of a fight. It was a complete defeat.
"Ooooooh!!!"
Allen's defeat drew cries of astonishment. Rodan had beaten Allen, who'd defeated Gerda and the Sword Saint Krena.
Rodan flexed his arm and declared victory like a child. He seemed genuinely happy to have beaten Allen.
(Gah! I don't stand a chance. Could his Attack be around 250 or 300?)
Allen estimated Rodan's Attack based on his own.
Having lost, Allen dutifully handed over the wooden keg of alcohol.
"It's booze!!!"
Rodan and Gerda accepted it without the slightest hesitation. They each filled a wooden cup to the brim. Rodan seemed to be savoring the sweet taste of victory.
(Judging by the stats from the Appraisal Ceremony, Dad's Attack is C, and Gerda-san's is probably D.)
Naturally, Allen had intended to win, but there were plenty of other things he needed to confirm.
What Allen wanted to find out was how strong people became after leveling up in Normal Mode. People leveled up by hunting magical beasts, and he wanted to know just how strong those who leveled up in Normal Mode could get.
This match had shown him that even someone without talent could reach an Attack stat above 200 without too much difficulty.
"Hey, you two are being so childish!"
Rodan and Gerda were so giddy with joy that Michilda had to chide them.
"That's right, Allen. Your dad is strong."
(Huh?)
Telesia was trying to comfort Allen. She seemed to think he was feeling down about losing, since he'd been analyzing their Attack stats. And yet, she looked pleased.
"That's right. Your dad is strong. I won't let you join the boar hunt unless you can beat me."
Rodan was telling Allen he had to beat him if he wanted to hunt boars. His cheeks were already red, perhaps from the alcohol.
(Oh! I got him to say it! If I can get my Summon skill to level 4 by autumn, I've still got a chance! Dad can't claim he doesn't remember just because he was drunk!)
"All right. I'll give up on the boar hunt until I can beat you, Dad."
Allen only pretended to give up, with his expression and words.
And so, the father-son showdown ended with Rodan's victory.