Hell yeah! I finally leveled up my summon skill!
Stat page, open!
Now I have the Enhance skill!
Does that mean I can make my summons stronger?
I also unlocked F-rank creatures, which I expected.
But I still have to fuse them together to get new ones, like I did with Chappy, huh?
What type is next?
C'mon, dragon! That'd be epic!
Summon: Shinryu!
Roar!
Man, this is getting me hyped.
Even better news! My card inventory went up from 20 to 30!
That means 1.5 more buffs, baby!
It's been two whole years since I last leveled up my summon skill.
What a slog.
Alright! I'll have to experiment later!
Oh! It kicked!
Wow! Really?
I'll clean up the dishes for you.
Thank you, Allen.
Let's get these chores outta the way. Then I can mess around!
Hey, Mommy? Am I gonna haff a wittle bwudder?
Maybe a brother, maybe a sister.
We don't know yet!
It kicks pretty softly. So I get the feeling it'll be a girl.
I'll have to start thinking up names.
You promised that I get to name any girls, remember?
O-of course! Do you already have an idea?
Let's see...
Oh! Is that my MP going back to full?
Something warm and gentle.
Elmea?
Whoa there, kiddo!
We don't take the Lord's name in vain.
You've been acting strange all day.
What's gotten into you?
O-oh, it's nothing!
Bad timing, devs!
H-hey, look!
Daddy! The boo-boo on your arm is all better!
Oh, you mean that old scar?
It's because I passed a Trial of the Gods during today's boar hunt.
Trial of the Gods?
It's a special moment that happens occasionally when we hunt.
You feel a sudden burst of energy that gets rid of all your wounds and exhaustion.
It feels great.
Wow!
Interesting. That must be how they describe leveling up in this world.
Flex! Pretty cool, huh?
Dad's a battle-hardened veteran at boar hunting.
Cool!
I can't see his stats, but I bet he must be a pretty high level by now.
Even though my summon skill went up, I'm still just level one.
And I'm never going to gain any EXP unless I beat some monsters.
But what sucks is that serfs can't leave the village without permission.
The only exception is for hunting.
Wish I could join a hunt...
No way.
Hunting isn't a game. It's dangerous.
It can cost lives.
Man, I wanna power myself up...
Alright. I'm betting I already know what that message was about.
I sent some pretty toxic complaints, after all.
Bingo! They fixed the glitchy text!
But I gotta say,
"we have filed an oracle with the Great Pope
to brief everyone" is a funny mix of words.
Anyways, my stats showing as E rank was due to the slower level ups in Hell Mode, huh?
Oh! But they sent an attachment showing just the raw data!
Nice. S rank for MP and Intelligence.
Makes sense for a Summoner.
I have the same amount of S, A, B, and C ranks as Krena.
No complaints here.
Seems like good value for the effort.
Even if it's an utter grind...
Okay, time to experiment!
For starters, using enhance on Denka!
Sweet.
It boosts the stats of the creature itself,
just like I figured.
Specifically, the same two stats that it gives buffs for.
But looks like enhancing creatures doesn't affect my buffs.
Let's see it in person.
Summon: Denka!
I can tell it's boosted from how it looks, even though it's not any bigger.
This proves there's more to Summoner than just bringing out the biggest and baddest monsters.
Exciting stuff!
Are you still up?
Ew! Bug!
Have a good day. Be careful, honey.
After going through a cycle of summoning and unsummoning,
I learned that enhancements on a card don't go away.
Which means, as long as I have the MP to spare, I should enhance all the cards in my inventory.
Go on. Say goodbye to Daddy.
Bye, Daddy! Have a good day!
Thanks. See you later.
Haff a good day!
And... done.
I've been testing all the various combinations for fusion, but...
I still haven't unlocked the new type.
The only possibility left is...
I better strike gold this time.
Insect F and Bird F, fusion!
Aw yeah!
It's a new card!
But... seriously?
How is "grass" a summonable creature type?
Well, I guess it's not all that different from insect.
More importantly, show me the buffs!
Whoa!
I finally got a creature that comes with an MP buff! Let's go!
Having this buff means that I can do
way more stuff over the course of one day!
At my current pace, I don't know how many decades it could take for me to reach the next level.
But this baby might cut that down by a number of years!
It's huge news!
Alright. Let's see what it's capable of.
Huh... Oh, right. I need to name it.
An apple, hm? Okay, you're gonna be "Appo"!
Not super original, I know.
You're obviously not made for fighting, huh?
Your ability is "Aroma."
Appo. Use your skill.
Huh?
Uh, so... is that all?
You gotta be kidding.
Huh?
I mean, I guess it does smell like an essential oil...
Ah, lovely! Now our boring little yard is one step closer to becoming a botanical paradise!
Argh! What am I, a freakin' isekai gardener?!
Thanks for hanging up the laundry, Allen.
It's almost time for lunch.
Oh crap! Go back to being a card, Appo!
It's not working! I can't get rid of this sapling!
Oh my. Has there always been a sapling here?
Gosh, I dunno.
It has such a nice aroma.
S-sure does!
What's the deal with this thing?
Does it have any use outside of its buffs?
Dammit! I still can't compete with her!
Hey, Allen.
Feels like you got kinda tougher.
Really?!
Come to think of it, my Sword Mastery skill is all the way at level three.
Plus, the expansion of my inventory gave me more space to buff my endurance and attack!
I guess so!
I wonder if that aroma skill from earlier has any effect in battle.
Like, maybe it can give boosts?
Actually, wait. I just remembered Fido was my first summon with an attack skill called "Chomp."
I really wanna try it out, but I shouldn't use it on people...
What's the matter?
It's nothing.
I swear I've thrown more than 20,000 of these at this point,
but there's no sign of my skill leveling up...
Big Brudder! This is boring!
Sorry. Wait just a little longer, okay?
I already have to look after Mash and help Mommy with the chores since she's pregnant.
Besides, I should really be focusing on increasing my summon level instead.
This just isn't worth the time it takes.
So I guess I'll quit practicing my "Throw" skill.
Except I hate to think I'm just one toss away from leveling up.
That makes it impossible to quit!
Hey! What're these trees?
Shucks, I'm not sure.
We practically have a garden now.
But they're really just taking up space...
I figured out a few things out from testing.
Mainly that Appo's skill, Aroma, can shorten MP recovery time from six hours to five hours.
Which enables me to do even more daily activities.
But honestly, it feels like I'll never have enough time...
Daddy sure is late.
Yeah. Even though he said he would be working close by today...
C'mon, Rodin! Hang in there!
Careful not to drop him, fellas!
Listen! We've almost got you home!
We made it! Your family's here, Rodin!
He got hit bad...
Took a boar fang right to the gut.
Oh, honey...
Man, looks like they straight up cauterized the wound.
We managed to keep him alive. Thanks to a healing herb.
Healing herb?
A Muellerze Flower.
Wait, really?
But how did you even get something so valuable?
Remember when the knights came the other day?
As part of their apology for what happened with Krena,
the knight captain gave me some gold coins.
We would've been screwed without those.
Well, that stupid commoner is to blame for all this!
Enough is enough! Let's put our collective foot down!
C'mon, Gerda!
What's going on?
Aw, don't fret, Mash.
It's all gonna be okay.
Let's give them some peace. You fellas should head home.
Don't do anything rash, hear me?
What exactly happened? Is a commoner really to blame?
A few days ago, we got a summons from the chieftain.
He wanted us to let commoners join the boar hunt.
But why?
Boar meat is valuable to them.
Although the majority of it is given to the baron,
the leftovers get split between us hunters.
Of course, there are times we may trade it for salt, firewood, or other essentials.
But it's hard to come by otherwise.
In spite of that, no commoner has ever volunteered themselves for a hunt.
It's just too dangerous. There are casualties every year.
Yet we serfs still do it, anyway. Because it's how we make a living.
We don't really have a choice in the matter.
So how did the commoners end up participating this time?
Because they heard talk of a hero among the serfs, I'm guessing.
Huh? You mean Krena?
No, I mean Rodin.
You remember when Sir Zenof called Rodin a legend in front of everybody?
From what I've heard,
Rodin is the man responsible for taking on the most dangerous role in the hunts.
In a way of speaking, that became like an official endorsement.
Everyone assumed commoners would be safe to join the hunt as long as Rodin was around.
Now I get it...
Neither Rodin or I were comfortable with amateurs tagging along on the hunt.
But we're not in a position to refuse orders from the chieftain.
To make matters worse, in the days leading up to the hunt
there were bums who wouldn't practice seriously.
Probably felt like getting taught by serfs was below them.
Attack in sync!
And then came today, the start of the hunt.
Here it comes!
We gave the commoners the easiest job: holding the boar's attention.
But when the time ultimately came...
You blockheads!
They threw our whole strategy out the window.
So we had to wing it.
But...
Watch out!
Fortunately, we managed to slay the boar.
I'll bring Rodin's share of meat tomorrow.
Theresia. Allen. Stay strong for him.
I'm such a loser... I haven't even been trying to help.
Sorry, Mommy! I'll take over.
I can handle it. You get some rest.
But...
The Great Boar!
Rodin!
Theresia?
Daddy?
Daddy!
Man... what have I been doing with myself?
I've been totally preoccupied with powering myself up.
But what good is power without purpose?
This isn't a game for these people.
It's a harsh world. They're doing everything they can to survive in it.
I have a little brother to protect. And another sibling on the way.
Well, now! It's good to see you awake, Rodin!
Thanks.
But I'm still in bad shape.
Here. This is your share of meat.
Thank you.
Don't worry about a thing. We're gonna make sure your family is well taken care of over the winter.
Just focus on getting better.
That's great. Sorry to burden you.
Listen, Dad.
Just rest up and let me take over.
I promise...
I will keep our family safe!
Whoa there, Allen.
It's gonna be too heavy for you to carry.
Thanks for your concern.
Hup!
Wha-?!
Strong kid.
I'll be damned...
It's time for me to drop the act.
This village already has an up-and-coming hero named Krena.
So it's no problem even if a talentless serf like me draws a little attention.
I decided to pour every buff into my physical stats, so I ditched all of the MP ones.
Family comes first, period.
Thank you, Allen. That must have been hard to carry.
It was a cinch, Mom!
I'm going to help harvest potatoes this afternoon.
Mister Gerda said he would teach me how.
I see. Pass along my thanks to him.
Watch carefully. You pull the potatoes up by the root.
Wow!
Ready to try?
Yeah! Like this?
Not quite. You're going to need both hands to-
Uh, never mind.
I always knew you were a tough nut. But you're even stronger than I thought.
Yep. I get it from my Dad!
All that work to harvest these potatoes and the baron gets dibs on more than half of them.
Being a serf is rough.
To survive the winter, we're still gonna need...
Pardon me.
I heard that you were back on the mend, Rodin.
Please accept these fruits with my sympathies.
Well, thank you for your generosity.
Go on. Hurry up.
It's my fault! I screwed up!
Please accept my sincerest apologies!
Ah, so this is the idiot who Dad had to save.
Like an apology is gonna fix anything!
Be more careful next time, okay?
If you want to keep hunting, that is.
Yessir! I'll take that to heart!
Wow, Dad's so magnanimous!
Your mistake nearly cost my husband his life.
Everyone has a family to go back to, no matter what their social class is.
Please keep that in mind.
Rodin! Thank God you're okay!
He's not okay yet, dude. But now we don't have to worry!
Let's go on another hunt, buddy!
Dumbass! It's too soon for that!
Here, we brought a care package!
Quit pushing!
Our wives put it together. It should be good for you!
Shucks, you guys. Take it easy, he's still recovering!
I've got the best parents in all of Japan!
Or whatever this world is!
That should do it.
Summon: Hopper!
Okay, now for step two.
Alright! Use Provoke!
I know it's the most cliche trap ever.
But as long as it scores me about 50 ducks or wild birds,
then my family can survive the winter.
C'mon, suckers!
Ribbit! Ribbit!
Crap. Is the range of their skill not wide enough?
This isn't working. I guess it's back to the drawing board for me.
Huh?
Wild bird incoming!
Bring it on!
Wait...
No... no freakin' way.
Is that an albaheron?!
I figured they'd just lure a few birds, not a D-rank monster!
That's the monster I was named after.
It looks pretty tough. I better run for it.
My enhance skill is up to level two now.
That can boost creature stats
from plus 10 to plus 20.
And I've already enhanced every summon in my inventory.
It's worth a shot.
I could help provide for my family, and besides...
hardcore gamers never shy away from a challenge!
Summon: Fido!
Finally, a chance to use them in real battle!
Get wrecked, birdbrain!
Aw, hell...
Screw it!
Man, that hit me way harder than before!
Oh, right.
I've been losing buffs from each summon creature that gets defeated.
And it's making me weaker!
Okay, so that's one major downside to being a Summoner...
Oh crap!
This might be the end for me!
EPISODE 3: TROUBLE
YOU HAVE REACHED FUSE LEVEL 3
YOU HAVE REACHED SUMMMON LEVEL 3
YOU HAVE REACHED GRIMOIRE EXPANSION LEVEL 2
YOU HAVE OBTAINED THE ENHANCE SKILL
SUMMON 3
CREATE 3 EXP: 8786 / 100000
FUSE 3 EXP: 0/100000
ENHANCE 1 EXP: 0/1000
SUMMONS AVAILABLE FOR CREATION:
INSECT [FGH] BEAST [FGH] BIRD [FG]
INVENTORY:
INSECT G 2 COPIES H 2 COPIES
BEAST G 13 COPIES, BIRD G 2 COPIES
SINCERELY, ELMEA - THE GOD OF CREATION
NAME:
ALLEN
AGE:
CLASS:
SUMMONER
LEVEL:
HP:
SKILLS:
SUMMON (3)
CREATE (3)
FUSE (3)
EHHANCE (1)
EXPANSION (2)
DELETE
SWORD MASTERY (3)
THROW (3)
EXP:
Dearest Allen,
We appreciate your passion for the game. Please accept our apologies for the error that occurred with displaying your talent
during the appraisal ceremony. We also apologize for the delay in replying to your messages. We have made updates to ensure that "summoner"
will display properly in future ceremonies. We have already filed an oracle with the great pope to brief everyone on this new class.
However, as with the other classes, no finer details have been shared. Next, we would like to address all of your stats being E rank.
As you surmised, these ranks are based on expected growth values and level up speed.
The progression of level ups, known as 'Trial of the Gods' in this world, is not information that we share publicly.
The same is true for modes, which dictate the level of difficulty. Therefore, because of how ranks are calculated and the data involved,
your stats will remain displayed as E rank. We appreciate your understanding. That being said, we realize it's unfair for you not to know
what to expect of your stats in the future. Therefore, we are sending you a version that doesn't take level up speed into account.
This has been added to your notebook, so you can refer to it even after this letter has expired. Please note this data doesn't reflect buffs
given by summon creatures. Our staff here in the heavenly realm is dedicated to improving service for all players
and appreciate your continued support. Please understand we have done everything in our power to compensate for this error.
We hope that you will not lodge any further grievances.
Sincerely, Elmea - The God of Creation
NAME: ALLEN
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
TALENT: SUMMONER
INSECT H
ENDURANCE +1 AGILITY +1
TYPE: INSECT
RANK:
NAME: DENKA
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
BUFFS: ENDURANCE +1 AGILITY +1
INSECT H
ENDURANCE +1 AGILITY +1
INSECT F
ENDURANCE +5 AGILITY +5
BEAST F
HP +5 ATTACK +5
INSECT F
BEAST F
INSECT F
BEAST F
BIRD F
BEAST F
BIRD F
INSECT F
ENDURANCE +5 AGILITY +5
BIRD F
AGILITY +5 INTELLIGENCE +5
INSECT F
BIRD F
GRASS F
MP + 5 LUCK +5
GRASS F
CURRENT MP IS 7, MAX OF 12
TYPE: GRASS
RANK: F
NAME: NONE (PLEASE CHOOSE)
HP: 14
MP: 20
ATTACK: 12
ENDURANCE: 15
AGILITY: 10
INTELLIGENCE: 13
LUCK: 20
BUFFS: MP + 5 LUCK +5
ABILITY: AROMA
GRASS F
MP + 5 LUCK +5
ABILITY: AROMA
THE HARDCORE GAMER DOMINATES
IN ANOTHER WORLD WITH GARBAGE BALANCING
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK: