Chapter 59
It was three days until New Year's. Since it was his day off, Allen left the mansion in the morning as snow piled up all around him. With the snow so deep, he borrowed a pair of woven straw boots.
"Oh, heading out again today? The snow's deep in some places, so be careful. Hm? What's that?"
"I borrowed it from the gardener. I thought I might need it today."
Allen answered the gate guard. A large shovel was strapped to his back with rope. The shovel's blade was over thirty centimeters across, so he couldn't put it in Storage. He'd borrowed the rope from the stable, too—about six thick, long pieces. He used one to strap the shovel to his back and put the other five in Storage.
He said he'd be careful, then went through the gate and pressed on.
After running through the snow for more than ten minutes, he was far enough from the city to reach an area where the trees grew sparsely.
(All right, what should I do? Should I hunt goblins for the morning? No, that might take too long. I'll focus on hunting White Deer today. Come out, Hawks.)
All six of his Bird E Summons appeared in the sky.
(There's a large monster called a White Deer. It has white fur and horns over two meters long growing from its head, so I should recognize one right away. Even if it's more than ten kilometers away, find one as close as possible.)
The Bird E Summons scattered to search.
(All right, let's get started. Mogusuke, come out. Dig a hole.)
Four Beast G Summons appeared. They were mole-shaped Summons. At his command to use their special ability, 【Digging】, they began to dig. They pushed through the snow, gradually creating a single large pit together.
Since learning that Summons had wills of their own, Allen had added a few things to his instructions for the Bird E Summons.
He told the Bird E Summons to search for monsters. However, if they found adventurers who urgently needed help, they were to go to them. To make an emergency easy to recognize, he told them to perch in a tree and cry three times in a row if they found one.
Allen traveled considerable distances around the city. He covered hundreds of kilometers during a day's hunt. After traveling that far, he sometimes came across what appeared to be the corpses of adventurers. There was no such thing as a completely safe hunt.
(I need to make sure I communicate properly with them.)
Summons had wills of their own. He now knew they might go against his instructions. They weren't completely mindless puppets.
(Summons with wills of their own that can stay summoned for thirty consecutive days...)
Back in Krena Village, he'd checked how long he could keep a Summon out continuously. It was thirty days, regardless of its rank. They could operate for an entire month without needing food—and they moved of their own free will. The possibilities were endless.
As he thought about that, three of the Bird E Summons returned.
(Good, good. Is there any prey within one kilometer?)
They didn't come down. As he gradually increased the distance and asked again, one of the Bird E Summons descended when he reached five kilometers.
(Five kilometers, huh? That's a decent distance.)
He couldn't give Summons instructions from more than fifty meters away. Beast G Summons didn't have much Intelligence, so if they got more than fifty meters away, they'd stop digging. He had to stay near them and keep directing them to use their special ability. The pit still wasn't finished, so he waited, using the shovel to pile the excavated earth in one place.
Since he was digging the pit quite deep, it took a long time.
In the meantime, he sent out the Bird E Summons several times to check that the target hadn't moved far from its position five kilometers away. It had moved a little, but didn't seem to have gone very far.
As soon as the pit was finished, he headed for the White Deer. Thanks to the straw boots, he could make good progress even through the snow.
After traveling the expected five kilometers or so, he found a monster crunching away on a Horned Rabbit. It stood a little shorter at the shoulder than a Great Boar, but from its neck to the top of its head, it was probably about three and a half meters tall. Two-meter-long horns extended horizontally from its head.
(Oh! There it is.)
It was a White Deer, the same kind they'd hunted back in Krena Village. They were pure white and hard to spot. Allen remembered that there must not have been many of them, since the villagers only caught about one a month.
From behind a tree, he summoned Insect G Summons.
(All right, Taunt it.)
Since this was a C-rank monster, he summoned one more than he had for the D-rank Alba Heron: four Summons.
The frog-shaped Insect G Summons appeared out of nowhere. They hopped around a short distance away, using their special ability, 【Taunt】.
'Brrr!'
The White Deer noticed the Insect G Summons and charged through the snow without a care. Just before it could trample them, Allen turned the Summons into cards.
The cards instantly moved farther away, and the Summons appeared again. They used Taunt once more. The White Deer charged at the hopping Summons again and again. Allen repeated the process, luring it toward the pit he'd dug. His clothes stood out against the silvery-white landscape, but Taunt was effective. While enraged, the White Deer didn't notice Allen sneakily guiding it from behind the trees.
At last, he led it to the final destination: the pitfall.
The four Insect G Summons hopped up and down, using Taunt.
'Brrr!'
The White Deer charged straight at them, trying to attack. However, it apparently hadn't noticed the pitfall hidden beneath the snow. It dropped straight in.
(Hm. Does Taunt lower its Intelligence? That was a pretty crude pitfall.)
Allen watched the White Deer fall into the pit and considered what had happened.
It hurriedly tried to climb back up, but that was impossible. The pit was ten meters deep. However, the White Deer didn't fall all the way to the bottom. The pit was just over two meters wide, while its horns spanned more than four meters, so they caught on the edges and kept it from falling to the bottom.
The White Deer's head was the only part sticking out of the ground.
Before the pit could collapse from its thrashing, Allen ran toward the White Deer and clung to its neck. Desperately trying to shake him off, the White Deer couldn't get any leverage with all four legs dangling in the air.
Still clinging to its neck, Allen put all his strength into driving his dagger deep into it with one hand. The White Deer let out a scream that shook its whole body, different from its earlier roaring. He stabbed it again and again until he pierced a vital blood vessel in its neck. At last, he seemed to have severed its carotid artery. As he pulled out his dagger, blood gushed over the edge of the pit, painting the silvery-white world red.
After a while, the White Deer stopped moving.
Allen brought out his Grimoire and checked the log as it appeared on the cover.
'You defeated one White Deer. You acquired 2,500 EXP.'
(I killed it.)
After confirming its death, Allen used his strength to drag it up onto the ground. He pulled it over to a large tree. He tied three ropes securely around each of its hind legs. Then he looped the ropes over the tree trunk and hauled it up with all his strength. The White Deer hung upside down in the air.
Blood poured from the blood vessels in its neck.
(I need to drain the blood. Still, this thing is heavy. Hopefully it'll be a little lighter once the blood's out. Well, I may as well clean up while I wait.)
The mound of earth he'd dug out from ten meters down lay beside the pit. He neatly filled the pit back in.
(Still, the EXP is lousy. Only 2,500 EXP for a whole day's hunting?)
Allen had set himself a quota of a hundred goblins, and earned more than 20,000 EXP on a single day off. Today, he'd spent time digging the pit, luring the White Deer, draining its blood, and cleaning up afterward. It seemed unlikely he'd have time to go hunting now. He'd spent the whole day hunting one White Deer.
(This thing must have at least five hundred kilograms of meat. If I can get one silver coin per kilogram, that's five gold coins, isn't it? I'll make sure the butler gives me a decent reward.)
Since he hadn't earned much EXP, he thought he deserved a decent tip to make the day worthwhile. There were plenty of things he wanted to buy. He still hadn't bought any new weapons or armor since arriving in this city.
After spending hours draining its blood, it was already past four in the afternoon. It seemed like a lot of blood had drained out. He carefully lowered the White Deer to the ground.
He tied the White Deer's legs close against its body so they wouldn't get in the way when he carried it. He strapped the shovel on, too, since that was in the way as well.
He switched from Insect G to Beast E Summons to increase his Attack as much as possible. Then he put all his strength into hoisting the White Deer onto his back.
(Damn, this is pretty heavy. I'm going to throw my back out. Time to head back to the city.)
Having successfully finished his White Deer hunt, Allen set off for the mansion with the animal on his back.