Ten days had passed since Allen’s first ever Summoning. He had just woken up from his afternoon nap and was now staring closely at the front cover of his grimoire where his Status was displayed. He was trying to decide what direction to take his training going forward.

During the past ten days, Allen had used his Summoning skill repeatedly during the moments when he was out of Theresia’s supervision. Due to this, he had learned quite a few things.

First, in regard to the grimoire:

Whenever Allen mentally chants, “Grimoire,” it appears.

Whenever he mentally chants, “Status,” his Status appears in silver letters on the black cover of the grimoire.

Whenever he mentally chants, “Creation,” silver letters asking what he wants to Create appear on the cover.

This was about it for the functions of the grimoire. Allen had not received any other communication from the deities of this world since.

Next, with regard to the cards that he could Create:

Allen can stock up a maximum of ten cards.

He can Summon a maximum of ten Summons at the same time.

He receives buffs corresponding to the cards in stock.

He can Summon and Unsummon the cards in stock as many times as he wants.

Due to the limit of cards being ten, a line asking him to “Please Delete one card” would appear on the grimoire’s cover whenever Allen attempted to Create an eleventh one. Whether the cards had been Summoned or not had no bearing on the maximum limit.

During the past ten days, Allen had also tested out the abilities of Beast H.

Type: Beast
Rank: H
Name: Mousey
HP: 5
MP: 0
Attack: 5
Endurance: 2
Agility: 3
Intelligence: 1
Luck: 2
Buffs: HP 1, Attack 1
Ability: Scurry

After all his observations, he determined that:

Beast H looks like a rather large mouse.

Just like the grasshopper, it almost never listens to instructions.

Whenever Allen verbally or mentally commands, “Scurry,” it uses its Ability.

As was seen in the Status window, Allen had set Beast H’s name as “Mousey.” This name could also be used for both Summoning and Creation, and the process—just like all other functions—could be performed without actually saying anything out loud. It was true that referring to Summons by type and rank was more appropriate for carrying out tests and analysis, but it just felt wrong to not have actual names for them. So while he was at it, Allen assigned Insect H the name “Denka” as well.

At this point in time, the Summons had remained unresponsive to all instructions that Allen attempted to give them. He originally thought it a matter of training, but they showed no signs of improvement even after he worked with them for a while. He eventually settled on the theory that this was due to their low Intelligence.

There was, however, one thing that he could command them to do. All Summons had an Ability, with Beast H’s being “Scurry.” Whenever Allen chanted the name of the Ability or simply the word “Ability” at a Summon, it would immediately begin performing that action. Allen could give this command again and again for any number of times, indicating that there was no MP cost for doing so. Allen was still working on giving commands to the Summons in hopes of finding something that they would respond to other than their Abilities, but had yet to see any signs of progress.

It had been a full ten days of experimentation while fighting off insistent drowsiness and hunger, as well as keeping attentive to Theresia’s movements at all times. Over the course of this period, she had reduced three grasshoppers to particles of light. Their house was little better than a hovel, so naturally it had no insulation or soundproofing and there were plenty of cracks all over that insects often entered through. Denka, however, was larger than most and therefore quite reviled by Theresia.

Come on Mousey, I know you can do it if you put your mind to it. Come to me!

Allen stretched both his hands toward the Beast H in the corner of his room. The creature suddenly turned his way, as if a connection had indeed been established.

“Oh?”

Just as the thought that he had finally succeeded in taming a Summon flashed across Allen’s mind, the Beast H looked away again and reverted to its erratic scurrying.

Gah, didn’t work after all. Seriously, how is this a class with more stars than a Demon Lord?

However, while it seemed impossible to control the Summons, it was not as if their existence was entirely meaningless.

They may not be able to help me fight, but if I stock up ten Mousey cards in the grimoire, it raises my Attack by ten. I almost crapped my pants that time I managed to pick up a whole log despite only being one year old.

Thanks to awakening to his powers as a Summoner, Allen was now far stronger than any ordinary baby his age. And through his repeated usage of the Creation and Summoning skills, he was starting to understand how his class was meant to be developed.

But the requirements for leveling up sure are ridiculous. I guess that’s Hell Mode for you.

Leveling up in Hell Mode was supposedly a hundred times harder than in Normal Mode. It was said that at the end of this path lay “the key to a Principle of the World,” but reaching that far would require extraordinary and unceasing effort.

I’ve finally gathered 24 Skill XP. Looks like the amount of MP I expend converts to XP in a one-to-one ratio. At least, that’s how it seems at the moment. Unfortunately, I don’t possess a skill that costs more than 2 MP to prove or disprove my theory.

Allen had also learned the following facts regarding MP and Skill XP through his experiments:

It costs 2 MP to Create a Rank H card.

The expended MP counts toward Skill XP.

Materializing a Summon from its card does not cost any MP.

Reverting a Summon to its card does not cost any MP.

Allen’s MP recovers to full after sleeping for half the day (i.e., six hours).

In short, the way to improve a skill was to keep using it. If Allen wanted to level up Creation, then he had to Create cards again and again.

However, it costs 2 MP to use Creation, and my max MP is also 2. If I only make one card each day, it’s going to take me 500 days to reach Level 2. Considering how my MP tops back up after six hours, I should probably aim to use Creation twice each day. It’d still take 250 days, but I’ll take what I can get.

Leveling up under Hell Mode was clearly not going to be easy. As Allen was still a baby, he needed between twelve to fifteen hours of sleep each day. The fact that his MP would recover in six hours meant that he could theoretically expend it four times each day; however, there was no clock in the house, making it difficult for him to wake up at regular hours. During the past ten days, he had been able to Create three cards on some days, while there were others where he could only manage one. This was why he decided to aim for an average of two casts per day.

I’d really appreciate a function for writing down the observations I make. With how thick this grimoire is, can’t it spare at least a few pages?

What Allen really wanted was a place to record his discoveries from the past ten days. As a gamer, he was naturally familiar with using spreadsheet software to analyze things like level-ups and stat growth. Although he knew better than to ask for something so sophisticated, he hoped for at least a few blank pages to write whatever he wanted.

While Allen was in the middle of pleading with the gods for the ability to use the unused pages in his grimoire, a jubilant voice called out from the part of the house with the earthen floor. “Theresia, I’m home!” shouted Rodin.

Hey, he’s back! Judging by his voice, they pulled it off!

“You’re back early, honey,” Theresia replied, popping up. When she saw her husband caked in mud, however, she exclaimed, “Wait, are you all right?!”

“Oh, totally fine, I’m not hurt. The great boar put up a fight and I ended up being bowled over is all. Is Allen awake?”

It was currently the middle of October. Fall was fully underway, and most of the harvesting had wrapped up, with potatoes being pretty much the only thing left. As such, Rodin had gone out today to hunt in the nearby woods together with a group of men from the village.

Of course, all the participants of the hunt were serfs. This was a term that Allen associated with farming, but for some reason he had yet to learn, these men often went out hunting from mid-fall through winter every year.

“If you’re fine, then that’s all that matters. Are...you sure about bringing Allen?”

“I did promise to show him where the butchering is going on. They’ve already started, so I’ve gotta hurry a little,” Rodin answered as he headed into the nursery with lumbering steps. “Allen, wakey wakey. We caught a whole great boar! It’s so big it’ll blow your mind!”

“Leally, papa? I wan’ see gate boa!” replied the (mentally) thirty-five-year-old in his best impression of a one-year-old who had just woken up.

“Just hang tight, buddy. You were a good boy, so I’m gonna bring you there now!”

“Yayyy! Goo’ boy!”

Back when Allen first heard his parents talking about the great boar hunts taking place, he had begged to see it the next time another one was brought back. Rodin had promised, “Sure, if you’re a good boy.” Allen was generally a rather obedient baby who rarely caused his parents trouble though, so there was no particular need to use the line. Allen suspected that Rodin just wanted to try saying it now that he was a father.

And so Allen was brought out of the house, nestled in Rodin’s arms—Theresia was not coming along because she did not want to see the butchering. Although Rodin’s clothes were a mess now after a full day of sweating, running, falling, and whatever else in the woods, for some strange reason, Allen found that he did not mind at all. After all, he knew just how hard his father worked for the sake of their family.

As it happened, this was Allen’s first time getting a good look at the frontier village. Up until now, he had only ever been able to catch glimpses through the wooden-framed windows and doorway of his house, as well as whatever was within eyesight when Theresia worked in the yard while cradling him.

It’s basically just a countryside covered with fields. Oh, a house!

The father and son pair continued down a path flanked by farmland. The fact that the fields sported different colors seemed to indicate there was a variety of crops being grown. Since it was mid-autumn, most had already been harvested, although crops similar to potatoes remained. Here and there, small houses dotted the expansive fields.

As Allen continued looking around inquisitively from the height of Rodin’s chest, his father suddenly said, “Look, Allen! It’s an albaheron!”

Following where Rodin was pointing, Allen spotted a solitary bird up in the sky. It was too far away to see clearly, but was obviously huge, possessing a wingspan of what appeared to be several meters. At the very least, it was larger than any avian that Allen knew of from his previous world.

“Aubahe’on?”

“That’s right! They fly toward the north during fall. That one in the sky is by itself, but they sometimes fly in flocks. Remember them: it’s said that when they start flying, it means fall’s begun.”

“Monsta?”

“Oh, you’re so smart! Yep, they are monsters. They almost never come down, though. Your papa ate albaheron meat once and it was super yummy!”

“Yum!”

“Now, if you ever see a monster larger than an albaheron flying in the sky, make sure you run and hide inside the house right away, all right?”

“Dwagons! Skawy!”

Seeing how Rodin had fallen silent and simply stared at the creature in the sky, Allen called out to him in a quizzical tone, “Papa?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s nothing. Look, we’re almost at the square. Get ready to be surprised by how big the great boar is!”

“’Kay!”

This was something that Allen was told much later, but apparently this monster, the albaheron, was the inspiration for his name. His father had chosen it hoping that his son would one day be free like the albaheron, able to fly wherever he wanted. There was no way for Allen to understand these sentiments at the moment, however, so he merely occupied himself by looking around the village with curiosity.

After about an hour of walking, the fields gave way to proper structures. In the distance up ahead was what appeared to be the village entrance, partly hidden by a huge mass resting in front of it.

Looks like this is the residential area. Which makes the area where I live the village’s outskir— Oh hey, it’s a boar! This must be the great boar. It’s the first monster I’ve ever seen!

Right before the gate leading out of the village was a monster that was already more than halfway dismantled. In spite of all the progress, however, it still somewhat maintained its original shape, leaving no doubt of it being a gigantic boar. There were around fifty people bustling about, helping out with the butchering in various capacities.

Damn, the closer we get, the larger it appears. This thing must be taller than three meters. It sure lives up to its name as a “great” boar.

Allen was overwhelmed by the incredible sense of presence emanating from the giant figure. If he really had to make a comparison with something from his previous world, it would be a hippo. He could not help but stare at the fangs protruding from either side of the creature’s face. Despite having heard from his father that monsters existed in this world, this was his first time seeing one from such a close distance.

Rodin continued making his way forward with Allen in his arms. More and more people turned to look over.

As I thought, we’re gathering quite the attention.

Allen had half-expected this to occur. The reason was simple.

“Hey, there you are, Rodin!” shouted one of the men currently taking part in the carving. “Guys, our MVP’s here!”

“Come on, man, don’t put me on the spot. You’re embarrassing me.”

“Well, you’re late. The meat was about to run out, MVP!”

A man with even bigger muscles than Rodin approached. Thick hair sprouted both around his mouth and on his chest in a way that, when paired with his rugged features, gave him the appearance of a gorilla. He, too, was holding a child in his arms—a girl around Allen’s age.

“Seriously, stop it, man. I just happened to get lucky and stab the great boar’s jugular,” Rodin replied, looking somewhat embarrassed by all the attention he was receiving.

“And I see you actually brought Allen! It’s been so long since I last saw him. He really does have black hair and black eyes, huh!”

Both Theresia and Rodin had brown hair. However, although Allen’s face seemed quite similar to his mother’s, his hair and eyes were the same shade as that from his previous life. All the stares directed his way were due to this being a pretty rare color in this world.

“He’s such a good child like you wouldn’t believe, Gerda! Allen, say hi. This is Gerda, our neighbor.”

“He’o. My name ’s A’en.”

Uh, wait, I greeted him like normal. How do one-year-olds greet people? Did I do it weird?

“You sure Allen’s a one-year-old? He’s completely different from Krena even though they’re the same age. Can he give her some of whatever he’s got?”

“Heh heh heh! My boy’s super smart, unlike me!”

“All right, I’m not here to argue with you about whose kid’s better. Here, Krena, say hi. What’s your name?”

“Kwena...” the girl with pink hair and blue eyes said before burying her face in her father’s chest as if she was feeling bashful from all the attention.

I see, so that’s what I should have done.

“Hey, hey, what’s with the shyness all of a sudden, Krena?” Gerda asked teasingly. However, she kept her face averted, save the occasional glances she shot toward Allen. Every time that happened, their eyes met.

This was the moment of the pair’s first meeting.

After a fair bit of banter with his neighbor, Rodin finally reached the great boar carcass. As promised, he was letting Allen see it up close.

Whoa, so this is a monster. I’ll probably have to defeat monsters to level up, right? I wonder when I’ll become strong enough to fight them.

“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.