Overwhelmed

By mid-March, monsters started to get active, many of which were actually edible. On the first day of hunting since Mihai's return, Allen managed to finish his quota of a hundred goblins by three in the afternoon.

Currently on his way back, he had two sticks on his left shoulder—one strung with five horned rabbits, the other with the big toad that Dudley had asked for.

'I've got my horned rabbits and big toad. Hawkins, there should be birds running on the ground called rowdy chicken nearby. Find me the closest one; I don't mind if it's a whole flock.' Allen was not one to waste even the time on the return journey.

After he gave his instructions, four Bird Es—he had recently reduced the number he employed for scouting from six to four—flew off.

'Wow, you already found some?' One Hawkins found a rowdy chicken soon after. Allen took off while still shouldering the prey he had already caught. Less than a kilometer away, he did indeed happen upon a super muscular chicken strutting on the ground.

'Take this!'

After lowering his luggage to the ground, Allen threw an iron ball with all his might. The monster took the ball to the head and fell dead on the spot.

Now that he was Lvl. 19, he could kill the large majority of Rank D monsters with a single attack.

'Hm, this should be enough for today. Is it about time to consider hunting further in?' Allen slit the chicken's neck with his short sword. While waiting for it to bleed out, he sat in thought.

According to what he had heard, lots of Rank C monsters lived close to the White Dragon Mountains. Naturally, they yielded more XP than Rank D monsters did.

'But it'd be a waste of magic stones if my Tamas keep getting done in. And I'm already hunting in an area mainly occupied by Rank D monsters.'

Allen killed the beasts he brought back for food using his iron balls, but naturally called on his Beast E Summons to kill goblins and other inedible monsters. It was much faster and more efficient doing it this way, as he could Summon them anywhere he wanted within a fifty-meter radius.

'You know what? I'll first focus on leveling Strengthening up. Then I'll try challenging myself against Rank C monsters.'

Back when he lived in Krena Village and had very limited opportunity to hunt, he had raised all three skills related to Summoning at an equal rate. That was the fastest way to get Summoning up and unlock new Summons that would give him greater stat buffs.

Now, however, the amount of Skill XP he needed to continue leveling Summoning up was simply astronomical. In contrast, it was much easier to raise his own level, which had remained relatively untouched until recently. By prioritizing the Strengthening skill, he could use his Summons to hunt monsters with greater efficiency.

Currently, Rank E Summons were so weak they could be killed even by goblins. If Allen went deep enough to where Rank C monsters roamed, he would definitely end up burning through his Rank E magic stones.

After deciding to first reach Strengthening Lvl. 5 before going looking for Rank C monsters, Allen checked on the rowdy chicken and found it completely drained. He then ran back to Granvelle City with three poles bearing his catches over his shoulder.

Until a while ago, the jaws of the guards on duty would drop when they saw Allen approaching the gate with so many monsters on his back. Now, however, they had grown completely used to it and allowed him to pass straight through.

He made good progress through the nobles' residence quarter, heading for the Granvelle mansion. Because of how narrow the mansion's rear entrance was, he would enter from the front whenever he had a large catch. Today was one of those days.

Cecil had told him to bring a lot back to celebrate Mihai's return because she loved her eldest brother very much.

Heeding the gardener's instructions, Allen lowered his catches onto the designated plank in the garden.

Clang! Clang!

Suddenly, Allen's ears registered the sound of swords clashing. He looked up and saw Mihai and the Knight Captain sparring, with the Baron, Baroness, Thomas, and Cecil all watching on. Apparently, everyone was here to see how much stronger Mihai had grown in his time away.

As Allen continued watching, memories of his time playing knight with Krena surfaced within his mind. He was so captured by the sight that he forgot to go tell Dudley he was back.

'Wow, Mihai's pretty strong! And this is my first time seeing Zenof in action.'

"All right, this will do. Young Master Mihai, you have truly improved."

Mihai looked quite happy with the praise. "Thank you, Captain Zenof. That said, aren't I old enough to not be called 'Young Master' anymore?" At this all the spectators burst into laughter.

It was now past 5 p.m., the time of the day when the kitchen was the busiest. Dudley always told Allen to come back earlier, but every time, he could only smile and vaguely promise to "do his best." Because Allen had to meet his goblin-hunting quota, he always ended up returning at around this time.

"Oh, you're back, Allen! Incredible, you brought back so much today!"

Cecil, who noticed Allen with his catches at the butchering area in the garden, called out to him. He looked in her direction, inadvertently thinking about how long it was since she last praised him. Everyone else also directed their attention toward him.

"I have just returned, milady," Allen replied with a brief bow before turning to head indoors. He had to fetch Dudley so that they could butcher the game he had brought back.

Mihai looked at the carcasses on the ground, then at Allen directly. "I'm impressed, Allen. That's quite the catch. Would you be interested in a round with me?"

'...What? Me?'

As Allen stood in place, unsure how to answer, Zenof held out his own sword in an obvious prompt for him to accept Mihai's offer.

'Wow, a mithril sword! I guess that's a Knight Captain for you! This looks awesome. Oh, right, the match. My card distribution is geared for hunting right now. Would it do?' Just in case, Allen double-checked his current Status.

___

Name: Allen

Age: 8

Class: Summoner

Level: 20

HP: 412 (515) + 130

MP: 30 (780) + 200

Attack: 220 (276) + 130

Endurance: 220 (276) + 20

Agility: 415 (519) + 60

Intelligence: 600 (750) + 40

Luck: 415 (519) + 200

Skills: Summoning {4}, Creation {4}, Synthesis {4}, Strengthening {4}, Expansion {3}, Storage, Deletion, Sword Mastery {3}, Throwing {3}

XP: 126,470/200,000

Skill Levels

Summoning: 4

Creation: 4

Synthesis: 4

Strengthening: 4

Skill Experience

Creation: 94,730/1,000,000

Synthesis: 96,610/1,000,000

Strengthening: 310,560/1,000,000

Creatable Summons

Insect: E, F, G, H

Beast: E, F, G, H

Bird: E, F, G

Grass: E, F

Stone: E

Holder

Insect: F x 2, E x 1

Beast: E x 13

Bird: E x 4

Grass: E x 20

Stone:

___

Allen took his short sword off his waist and propped it against a nearby wall so that it would not get in his way.

Ever since having officially become a huntsman, he had been allowed to walk around armed and therefore had reverted to wearing his weapon around everywhere instead of keeping it inside Storage.

He tightened his grip on Zenof's mithril sword and walked up to stand across from Mihai a slight distance away.

As everyone looked on, the Baroness clasped her hands before her chest and exclaimed, "Oh my, what if Mihai gets hurt?" Her son was facing someone who had managed to bring a Rank C monster back alone. Her worries were understandable.

Instead of answering her, however, Zenof simply said, "Both sides, ready?"

Allen and Mihai both lifted their weapons.

"FIGHT!"

Allen, whose Agility was over 400, immediately closed in on Mihai. A loud clang rang out as both swords clashed.

'Huh? Wait, he's... He's actually pretty strong! Seriously?!'

Allen noticed that something was off almost immediately. Mihai's strikes were actually heavy, and he also had the upper hand in speed. Realizing that he did not need to go easy on his opponent, Allen grabbed his sword with both hands in order to bring it down with every last drop of his 370 Attack.

'Dammit, he blocked me with a single hand?!'

Mihai looked unfazed while blocking Allen's full-powered swing. After this, Allen remained on the back foot.

"Madam, please rest assured," Zenof suddenly said, addressing the Baroness.

"About what?"

"In less than a year, Young Master Mihai cleared the assignment that Academy City assigns all students. It is simply impossible for him to lose against someone who has yet to attend."

The moment Zenof made his declaration, Allen's sword was smacked out of his hand and he found the tip of Mihai's sword at his throat.

"I surrender," Allen admitted, prompting Mihai to withdraw and sheathe his weapon.

"You really are incredible, Allen," Mihai smiled. "Now I understand why you were made personal manservant despite your age."

"And yet I fall far short in comparison to you, Young Master. Thank you very much for the favor of this match." Allen bowed deeply.

'I mean, damn, he's really strong. I couldn't lift a finger. Hm, is this because he cleared a dungeon for his summer break assignment? That must have helped him level up a lot. So this is the strength of someone with a Talent who properly got his level up. And he did this in a year—rather, it might have been only in the two months he went dungeon delving.'

Those under Normal Mode leveled up a hundred times faster than those in Hell Mode. In spite of all the hunting he had done, Allen was still no match for Mihai.

"No less from Cecil's personal manservant. Make sure you take care of my sister, Allen."

"Y-Yes, Young Master." Mihai offered a handshake, and Allen accepted it.

In this way, Allen's very first fight with a Talented person in Normal Mode ended with his complete defeat.