Level Up

It had been one year and ten months since Allen was reincarnated in another world. He would turn two in another two months.

Thanks to having good parents, he was growing up healthy. He had recently finished weaning, too. Though they were poor, his parents raised him with love, and lately he had come to think that this, too, was a kind of happiness.

Since his parents were serfs, Allen was one as well. Based on what he knew from his previous life, he believed there were two main characteristics of serfdom.

・No freedom to choose one's Job

・No ownership of land

There were various theories, but those two points were the main ones. In the real world, serfdom was the dominant system until the nineteenth century. Even today, some countries have systems much like it.

Over the past ten months, he had learned that this other world's calendar had twelve months in a year, thirty days in a month, and six days in a week. Little by little, he was learning about this other world.

There were also four seasons, and the environment changed with spring, summer, autumn, and winter. It snowed quite a bit in winter, and since their home was little better than a shack, the second winter had been very cold.

Events and memories from the past ten months or so ran through his mind like scenes from a life flashing before his eyes.

The message function displayed on the Grimoire's cover was what had brought them to mind. The cover was pitch-black, but whenever Allen summoned something or his status changed, messages appeared like a game's log.

The logs were usually silver, but this time the letters were yellow. From now on, yellow would surely be a happy color for Allen.

'Your Create Skill Experience has reached 1,000/1,000. Your Create level has increased to 2. Your Summon level has increased to 2. You have acquired Synthesis Skill Level 1. You have acquired Expansion Level 1. A memo function has been added to your Grimoire.'

"Fwoooooah!!!"

For a gamer, this was the moment when all his hard work paid off. Food and the cold no longer mattered. It was the height of summer, and Telesia was out working in the fields with Rodan, so Allen could let out a triumphant yell to his heart's content.

(Th-this is incredible! So much to check, but first, what happened to my status?)

There was a lot to catch his attention in the log on the Grimoire's cover, but first he checked his status.

【Name】 Allen

【Age】 1

【Job】 Summoner

【Level】 1

【Stamina】 4 (40) +8

【Magic】 0 (20)

【Attack】 1 (10) +8

【Durability】 1 (10) +2

【Agility】 2 (25) +2

【Intelligence】 3 (30)

【Luck】 2 (25)

【Skills】 Summon〈2〉, Create〈2〉, Synthesis〈1〉, Expansion〈1〉, Delete

【Experience】 0/1,000

・Skill Level

【Summon】 2

【Create】 2

【Synthesis】 1

・Skill Experience

【Create】 0/10,000

【Synthesis】 0/1,000

・Summons Available to Create

【Insect】 G, H

【Beast】 G, H

【—】 G

・Holder

【Insect】 H 2 cards

【Beast】 H 8 cards

【—】

(Th-this is... There's a new “—” thing. What is it?)

There was so much to think about that his mind went blank. He clutched the floating Grimoire in his tiny hands, and fifteen minutes passed.

(C-calm down. It looks like my Create level went up, my Summon level went up, and now I can create G-rank summons? Could ranking up add more types of summons?)

He surmised that a new summon had been added when either his Summon level or Create level increased.

(For now, I want to create one of the newly added summons, but I don't have enough Magic. I should test the other things.)

He looked at the word Synthesis on his status. He guessed it meant he could synthesize summons. Since summons were stored as cards, he could probably synthesize cards with one another.

Creating G-rank summons and Synthesis both seemed to require Magic, so he decided to test the other things first. He had just leveled up after using his Magic, so he had none left.

(Still, why does the Skill Experience needed for the next Create level jump tenfold to 10,000?)

At his current pace, even creating three times a day would take four and a half years. That would take far too long. Since Allen's own level was still 1, he needed to find a way to increase his maximum Magic.

(Next is the Grimoire's Expansion function. Oh! The indentations in the Holder—let's see, there are twenty now, double the number! That means I can store up to twenty summons. And I'll get twice the Blessings, too! Whoo-hoo!!!)

With the Holder expanded from ten spaces to twenty, he could store twice as many summons as cards. Since each card added to the Blessings he received, this alone could double his Blessings.

(Now, what was that about a memo at the end? Oh? There are about ten pages labeled “Memo”! And—wow! If I just think about it, my notes get recorded! Whoo-hoo!!!)

As its name suggested, the memo function at the end of the Grimoire let him use the blank spaces on the last few pages for notes. There were ten pages. The Grimoire was as large as a dictionary, so there was plenty of room to record anything he wanted. It could even read his thoughts and write them down automatically. It was an incredibly useful feature.

(All right, my Magic is at zero right now, so I'll take a nap and test the things I couldn't last night.)

Having learned just how great the benefits of leveling up were, one-year-old Allen happily went back to sleep.

Rodan and Telesia returned home. They set their farming tools in the earthen-floored entryway, washed the mud from their hands and feet with water from the jar, then washed their faces and quenched their thirst. Every morning, Rodan fetched water from the village water source and filled the jar. They used that water for cooking and to wipe Allen down, too.

"Allen, have you been a good boy? I'll start making dinner right away."

"Yes, Mama."

Telesia had mostly stopped using baby talk. The nursing period was over, apparently to help Allen grow. The Rodan family didn't have many seasonings, so they could only boil or grill their food, and meals were quick to prepare. Rodan was responsible for mashing vegetables, beans, and potatoes for Allen.

They began eating without saying “Let's eat” or offering a prayer. Since they lived in an isolated pioneer village, their conversations rarely changed much.

"By the way, Gerda said Krena, the girl next door, is such a tomboy that she's having trouble keeping up with her. Gerda asked if you'd be her playmate."

"Huh?"

(Come to think of it, we do have neighbors. I haven't seen them since the Great Boar was butchered.)

He remembered the pink-haired toddler who had been carried over by their neighbor, Gerda.

The pioneer village was fairly large, with lots of fields within its bounds. Even though they lived next door, Allen and Krena were both under two, and Telesia had told him not to leave the house by himself yet. He obeyed and stayed inside, so he rarely had a chance to see his neighbors.

"That's right. She might be your future bride, so you have to get along."

Telesia, who was nearing twenty, seemed to enjoy talking about things like that. She joined in eagerly, clearly delighted. It was a small world where their parents knew each other, and the children were close in age—or rather, the same age. For serfs like Allen and Krena, finding a marriage partner in circumstances like theirs was the norm. Since they were basically unable to leave the village, there was little other choice.

"Huh? I'm allowed to go outside?"

"Well, not until you're three, I think."

It seemed that even though their neighbors lived next door, Allen would have to stay indoors until he turned three.

After their family dinner was over, he returned to the nursery.

(Heh heh, my Magic has recovered, too. Now I have to try something! Should I create a G-rank summon or try Synthesis? I guess I'll start with the new Synthesis Skill.)

The Grimoire appeared. Perhaps because he had thought “Synthesis,” its pages began to flip.

(Oh, there's a new page in the Grimoire! It only has two indentations in the middle. Oh, the next page only has one. So it turns two summon cards into one. I don't know the conditions for Synthesis, so I'll try combining two Beast H cards for now.)

He placed two Beast H cards in the indentations.

(All right, Synthesis!)

But the two cards remained as they were, and nothing happened.

(Huh? Did I do it wrong?)

He checked the log on the Grimoire's cover. It was often quite helpful. A message was appearing.

'You don't have enough Magic for Synthesis Level 1.'

"Wha—! Not enough?!"

He had spoken too loudly, so he clapped a hand over his mouth. It seemed two maximum Magic wasn't enough.

(Huh? Am I stuck? Is my maximum Magic too low to use Synthesis? What about creating G-rank summons?)

He concluded that he couldn't use Synthesis because he didn't have enough Magic.

He tried to create a G-rank summon. Since he didn't know what “—” meant, he chose Beast.

(Create Beast G!)

But nothing happened. Thinking it might be the same problem, he checked the Grimoire's cover.

'You don't have enough Magic to create Beast G.'

(N-no way. I can't create Beast G or use Synthesis with the Magic I have now? Is my maximum Magic too low?)

At a loss, Allen realized there were still many things he couldn't do, even after leveling up.