Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~

Strengthening

　It was late September, about two months after the Knights had left. I’m almost six years old. It’s still hot, and Rodin is plowing the field.

　One thing that has changed during this time is that Theresia got pregnant with her third child. We just found out she was pregnant, so the birth will be around the beginning of the year. The midwife in the village told me.

　That’s why Rodan is plowing the field alone now, for the sake of Theresia’s rest.

　Theresia says she really wants to name the third one herself. Both Allen and Mash were named by Rodan. It seems that they made a promise where Rodan would name the child if they had a boy and Theresia would name the child if they had a girl, and Rodan answered that he wanted a girl. But when I was born he was ready with the name Allen.

　Allen was staring at the Grimoire, leaning back against a tree that was out of direct sunlight and whose bark had been battered round and round tens of thousands of times by something hard.

　On the Grimoire, in yellow letters, it read.

The skill experience of Synthesis is now 10000/10000. Synthesis level is now 3. Summoning level is now 3. Grimoire Expansion is now at level 2. You have received 1 notice.

“Yes, I have finally leveled up. It’s been a long time. There’s so much to check. Let’s see where to start.”

　The moment the skill experience of Synthesis reached 10000, it levelled up.

(It took me quite a while to level up. I was maybe a year and eleven months when I acquired it, and was able to use it since I turned three.)

　I used my magic power every day to use Create and Synthesis, and since my mana recovers in 6 hours, I was able to use the skills at least 3 times a day, and sometimes 4 times if I had the time.

1 year and 00 months old, acquired Grimoire, Summoning level 1, H-rank summons unlocked

1 year and 10 months old, Summoning level 2, acquired Synthesis skill

3 years, 00 months, G-rank summons unlocked

5 years and 11 months old, Summoning level 3, acquired Strengthening skill, F-rank summons unlocked

　There were many interesting statements in the log. I wanted to see my status page first. I opened the Grimoire and checked the indications on the first and second pages.

　[Name] Allen

　[Age] 5

　[Talent] Summoner

　[Level] 1

　【Strength】 20（40）＋26

　[Mana] 0 (20)

　[Attack Power] 5 (10) + 26

　[Endurance] 5 (10) + 6

　[Agility] 12 (25) + 10

　[Intelligence]15 (30) +4

　[Luck] 12 (25)

　Skills Summoning <3>, Create <3>, Synthesis <3>, Strengthening <1>, Grimoire Expansion <2>, Delete, Swordsmanship <3>, Throwing <3>

　Experience 0 / 1,000

Skill level

　[Summon] 3

　[Create] 3

　[Synthesis] 3

　[Strengthening] 1

Skill experience

　【Create】 8,786/100,000

　【Synthesis】 0/100,000

　[Strengthening] 0/1,000

Summons that can be obtained

　[Insects] FGH

　[Beast] FGH

　【Bird】 FG

　[-] F

Holder

　[Insects] 2 G-rank, 2 H-rank

　[Beast] 13 G-rank

　[Bird] 2 G-rank

　[-]

(Oh! I’ve unlocked another skill. I can also summon F-rank monsters now. Do I have to unlock this [-] by using Synthesis like G-rank Bird? I wonder what’s next! I want to summon a dragon.)

　My skill level has increased and I can’t stop the excitement. I calm myself down and think about what to check next.

(Hmm, I’ve just run out of mana so I can’t use Create or Synthesis right now.)

　I flipped open the Grimoire.

There are now 30 card holders!

　The Grimoire Expansion skill has increased the number of cards I can hold from 20 to 30. I think this will increase my blessings quite a bit.

(Well, I guess that’s all I need for now. All that’s left to do is to read the notice from God.)

　There’s one glowing thing on the back page of the Grimoire, which must be another notice from the Gods like the previous time.

(Hmm, you’ve finally decided to apologize, huh? Let’s see.)

“Mr. Allen.

　I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued patronage.

　I would like to express my sincere apologies for the unclear display of your talent occupation during the appraisal ceremony.

　Also, I am very sorry for the delay in replying.

　First of all, as an improvement, when the appraisal ceremony is performed in the future, “Summoner” will be displayed in the talent field. In addition, we have already oracled that a new talent has been added to the Archbishop. As with other talents, we have not provided any details regarding the content of the talent.

　Next, I would like to respond to the point why all your ability values were ranked E.

　As you know, currently, abilities are based on both status gain and level-up speed. Leveling up, which in this world we refer to as the Trials of God, is also not disclosed to the public. Therefore, we do not disclose the difficulty level of the trials, or the mode.

　As a result, all ability values will remain unchanged at E rank, as the specification takes into account both the status increase value and the level-up speed.

　However, it is unfair that only you are unable to grasp the value of his status increase.

　We will send you the values of your abilities when appraised based on status increase values only. This information is also attached in the memo field, so you can check it even after the contents of the letter have disappeared. Please note that the appraisal results do not take into account the summoner’s blessings.

　[Name] Allen

　[Strength] A

　[Mana] S

　[Attack Power] C

　[Endurance] C

　[Agility] A

　【Intelligence】 S

　[Luck] A

　【Talent】 Summoner

　All of us at the Divine Realm are determined to continue improving our services, and we look forward to your continued patronage.

　We believe that we have sufficiently apologized and made a sincere effort through this response.

　We would appreciate it if you would refrain from making similar complaints in the future.

　　　　　　　　　　From Elmea, God of the Otherworld”

　When I read to the end, the letter starts disappearing. Indeed, the memo section of the Grimoire now shows my ability values and talents.

(Hmm, after about five months of requesting improvements, I got a response. But I’ve never seen the term “oracled” before.)

　The appraisal result was all E, no change. However, it was carefully written that the talent “Summoner” was oracled to the Archbishop.

　I remember when I was Kenichi in the real world, I received the same polite notice from the game developers when my equipment in the game disappeared.

　I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep complaining forcefully just because the notice is long and politely worded. The other party is a God after all. They might easily be able to erase my existence.

(Hmmm, my ability value is somehow like Kurena’s Master Swordsman as a rearguard. Isn’t the number of SABCs about the same as Master Swordsman?)

　I compared my ability values with Kurena’s, which I had made a note of in my Grimoire. In the real world, the ability of the Master Swordsman was three stars. This means that even without the blessings, I have the ability of a 3 star talent.

(Leveling up is called the Trials of God?)

　I once asked Rodan, who has been hunting the Great Boar, about his experience of leveling up. Now that I think about it, he did say something about overcoming the trials of the gods and increasing his power.

　Now that I’ve checked the notice and it’s contents, it’s time to check Strengthening, Create F-rank monsters, and use Synthesis to produce [-]. I’ve run out of mana, so I’ll continue after dinner.

　It was evening, and dinner was over. At Allen’s house, dinner is served after 4:00 p.m. Before 5:00 p.m., everyone eats together around the hearth, and then relaxes in the children’s room. Since Theresia was pregnant, I took the initiative in cleaning up after dinner and washing the dishes.

　As I was doing this, it was already six o’clock when I entered the children’s room. Mash began poking me.

“Come on, let’s play.”

　I started playing with Mash. After dinner, Mash’s stomach is full and he falls asleep after less than half an hour of playtime. I put a quilt over him as he sleeps like a log.

(Okay, now that Mash is asleep, let’s see what I can do.)

　It was finally time to see what I could do. There is still some time before the sun sets.

(For now, let’s use Strengthening, maybe I’ll Create F-ranks tomorrow.)

　I decided to try Strengthening than creating F-rank summons. Since there are four F-rank summons, including the unknown, I thought of checking about it after completely analyzing Strengthening.

(Strengthening!)

　At any rate, I shouted within my mind when silver letters started appearing on the cover of the Grimoire.

“Which card would you like to strengthen?”

(Oh? I didn’t get a message saying I didn’t have enough mana. I thought it would come up because I only have 10 mana.

　I remember that I had Synthesis when I was 1 year and 10 months, but couldn’t use it until I reached 3 years old because I didn’t have enough mana.

“Well, let’s see… Insect H!’

　Then one of the Insect H cards in the holder floated in front of my eyes and began to glow gold.

(Oh!)

　I desperately try to cover my mouth to keep my voice from coming out. The card stops glowing and the color of the card changes.

(Whoa, whoa! The margins of the pictures on the card have gilded!)

　The margin of the picture of the Locust has been changed from white to gold and white. And there are words written in the lower part of the margin.

“Endurance +10, Agility +10.

(You mean the summoner’s status has increased? I see. So I can strengthen the status of my summon? I can not only create a summon of a stronger rank, but also strengthen it?)

　The picture of the Locust is still the same. The summoner’s appearance seems to be unchanged.

(Does this mean that Denka’s size will change? Let’s try summoning it!)

　Will it be doubled in size now?

“Oh! It’s glowing faintly. Can I tell that it’s been enhanced in appearance? It is the same size as before.)

　The size of the Locust does not seem to change. However, it glows faintly when it is strengthened. The appearance of the card also shows that it has been strengthened by looking at the summon.

“Oh, Allen, Mash, go to bed.”

“Whoa!”

　Apparently, Theresia woke up due to my shouting. She was coming in to the children to check up on us.

　It was Theresia who made eye contact with the Locust.

“Aaah! I hate insects!!! Why are there so many of these insects in this room?!”

　The summoned H-rank insect, crushed regardless of whether it was strengthened or not, disappeared as a glowing bubble.

“Well, good night…”

　As if nothing had happened, Allen feigned calmness and crawled face first under the covers and fell asleep.