Hunting Great Boars

It was now October, and Allen had turned seven.

"All right, we're off."

"We're off, mother."

"Take care, Rodin, Allen."

Theresia gave Rodin a kiss and Allen a hug. The hug was very tight, almost as if this was a final farewell.

Rodin threw his usual bag—filled with his hunting tools, food, and water —over his shoulder and tied it diagonally across his back. It was larger than normal today as it also contained Allen's rations. He then picked up his hunting spear.

Both Rodin and Gerda had ended up accepting Allen's suggested changes to the great boar hunting strategy. Today, they were going to put them into practice. Allen would finally get his chance to see a hunt in person.

When Allen and Rodin stopped by Gerda's house to pick him up, they found him waiting next to Mathilda—who was holding Lily—and Krena.

"Alleeeeen! I wanna go tooooo!" Krena cried, grabbing Allen's arm and shaking it vigorously.

"Once you're a bit older, okay?" Gerda admonished with a troubled look on his face.

"Whaaaaat? Why does Allen get to go, then?!" Krena asked, her cheeks puffed in indignation.

"I'm just going along to observe," Allen replied, calming her down by patting her head.

As he said, Allen was not going to directly participate in today's hunt.

Although his idea had been accepted, the adults did not give him permission to join in. He had spent a whole hour trying to argue his point, but Rodin was resolute and refused to budge.

Eventually, Allen folded and asked if he could at least come along to observe. Rodin still shook his head, but Allen insisted that it was necessary for him to see whether his strategy worked or not in person. In the end, the two struck a compromise with Allen promising to stay a good distance away from the action. After that, Allen asked when he would actually be able to participate.

Rodin's response was, "When you turn ten." In this world, children in serf families began helping out at ten, and the age of adulthood was fifteen. Allen, however, thought that there was not much of a difference between seven and ten.

'Do I seriously have to wait three more years to join in? I really want that great boar XP, though. I've gotta think of something.'

For Allen, XP was everything. Since it was now October, he intended on resuming his albaheron hunting. However, he wanted XP from the great boar hunts too.

Although officially he would be going along only to observe, he was racking his brain for a way to get in on the action somehow.

'Mm, my card distribution is just right.'

Allen currently had his cards arranged in what he called Hunting Mode. Even though he would not be able to take part in today's hunt, he needed this loadout to hunt albaherons.

And now that he was seven years old, the restriction on his stats had relaxed somewhat, with the scaling increased from sixty percent to seventy percent. Allen loved looking at the higher numbers so much that he would check his grimoire every once in a while.

***

Soon, Allen's group passed through the village square and reached the gate to the village, the gathering place this morning for all those who would be participating in today's great boar hunt. Everyone present was holding spears.

"Oh, there you guys are!" someone shouted, prompting all eyes to turn around. There were whispers along the lines of "He really brought his kid!" but no one voiced their opposition out loud. Rodin had given his permission for Allen to come along as an observer and Gerda had expressed his agreement. The rest of the serfs trusted these two's judgment.

What's more, Allen himself had also proved, over the past year, that he possessed incredible strength. Many people had witnessed him drawing water from the community well and going out to buy firewood.

It was precisely because this world functioned on a leveling system and it was indeed possible for people to display unbelievable power that everyone seemed to have taken this in stride.

"We'll set off once everyone's here. We even have two newcomers today. Let's all get fired up and do this properly!" Rodin shouted to rally the others, prompting an enthusiastic "OHHHHH!" in response. Some even wiped away tears at seeing this leader of theirs returning to action after an entire year away.

Because there were still members of the party who had not yet arrived, the group continued waiting. The two newcomers, both of whom were commoners, were already present. They were among the five who had participated last year. Just like the serfs, they were holding spears and waiting patiently at the gathering point.

There were two ways to increase the number of great boars hunted beyond the ten per year that the group had managed so far.

First would be to increase the frequency of the hunts—more hunts would mean more great boars.

Second would be to increase the number of hunters to where there could be two hunting parties—this would double the number of great boars hunted.

Both methods, however, required the same thing: more hunters.

'For now, our task is to demonstrate how we can incorporate these two newcomers into the hunts safely. Then we can think about gathering even more people. That's why we're starting with only two this time, then only accepting more at a controlled pace.'

When the last person arrived, this time it was Gerda who shouted, "All right, we're all here. Let's go!" The rest roared their answer before the entire group started filing out of the village gates.

'Seven years after being born as a serf, I finally get to see the outside world.'

Deboji, the Village Chief, had given official permission for Allen to leave the village for this outing, as Rodin and Gerda teaming up together to ask for something gave their request significant weight. He did look somewhat doubtful when the two told him that this was necessary for today's hunt, but did not press the matter.

Allen could not help but gasp with emotion as the wooden gates opened up, revealing the world beyond. The path connected to the village was clear enough to be a road but was not very well-maintained. This was the same passage the knights had traveled when they visited the village previously.

"Allen, let's go. This way," Rodin called out, seeing his son standing still.

As it turned out, the hunting party was not using the road. After leaving the gate, they circled around the walls of the village, heading toward a rather dense forest a ways off in the distance.

'The first hunting ground is three hours' walk away, if I remember correctly.'

What with there being newcomers today, the plan was to do the hunt at the site closest to the village. Even so, there was still a bit of a distance to hike. Along the way, Allen reconfirmed with Rodin and Gerda the strategy they were going to employ today.

Halfway through the conversation, one of the newcomers approached the three and said to Rodin, "Sir, I'm going to do my best today!"

'Hm? I feel like I've seen him before...' This newcomer seemed to remind Allen of someone.

"Mm. Well, today should be easier than last year," Rodin replied. "Don't wind yourself up too tight."

'Oh, right, he's the guy who visited our house that one time last year. He's joining this year too, huh.'

Apparently when Rodin had informed Deboji that the hunting party was looking to accept two newcomers and Deboji spread the word, this young man had been one of the first to step forward.He wanted to be of use this time to make up for his previous failure. The other serfs had accepted him with open arms, appreciative of his desire to make things right.

The procession of a total of twenty-three, including the newcomers and Allen, soon reached the forest. They continued making their way in deeper, heading for the hunting grounds.

After a while Rodin shouted, "All right, we're here!" prompting everyone to stop.

This was a rather sizable clearing that had more than enough space for twenty people to hunt in. The group could finally take a breather after walking for hours on end. Everyone retrieved their dried potatoes and waterskins from their luggage.

Gerda asked, "Pekej, got a minute?" prompting a man munching on a potato to come over. The two proceeded to do a final confirmation on details of the day's hunt—such as where to draw the game from—by drawing it out on the ground. Allen sat together with them to listen in.

The hunters were going to be split into three major teams. Because of this, there was a need for three leaders. Aside from Rodin and Gerda, the third one would be this man, Pekej. And how his team performed would determine the survival of the entire hunting party.

When Pekej said, "We'll be searching in the north today," Gerda marked it in their diagram on the ground.

Pekej's team, Team One, was in charge of drawing a single great boar to this clearing. This was the role that Allen, from his days as a gamer, referred to as "pulling" or "fishing." The general idea was to attract the desired enemy and draw it toward where one's allies were lying in wait.

This team had the fewest number of people—including Pekej, there were only three total. With a simple "All right, we're off," each of them grabbed a stick and disappeared into the trees. The sticks they were armed with were not spears but something more similar to Allen's wooden sword. That was the tool they needed to do their "fishing."

Great boars were scattered throughout this forest, but they were not necessarily always by themselves. Some wandered around alone, but some would be in pairs or trios. There would be no problem if the pullers encountered a great boar by itself.

However, if it was a group of three, and they led all three boars to the hunting party, the party would be overrun and everyone could very well die. In such cases, the pullers needed to lead only one toward the hunting grounds while drawing the remaining two in the opposite direction to lose them in the woods. This was why three men were needed to "fish" a single great boar.

The population of great boars in this forest would explode in autumn. As such, it would not take too long to find and pull one to the hunting ground.

'Beyond this forest is the White Dragon Mountains, right? I wonder if it's related somehow.' Allen was curious as to why the boars would increase in number so significantly in autumn, but apparently neither Rodin nor Gerda knew the details.

All they knew was that beyond the forest were the White Dragon Mountains, a mountain range where a white dragon resided. Rodin posited that perhaps the great boars normally lived at the foot of these mountains and came to the forest in autumn in search of food.

'I can't see the mountain from here. Is it actually quite far away? I can't see anything with all these trees in the way.'

"IT'S HEEEEERRRE!"

Pekej burst out from the forest, his shout interrupting Allen's thoughts.

The other two pullers were nowhere to be seen. In other words, the team must have encountered a group of three great boars, and the other two were still in the middle of losing their respective boars.

"GUMOOOOHHH!"

CRAAAASH!

The great boar had arrived.

***

Just as it was about to crush Pekej under its hooves, the man ducked behind a large tree. In the brief window when the boar slowed down after colliding with the tree, Pekej dashed through the lines of the hunting party's main force.

Gerda led the team in charge of this next part.

All eleven members of this team—the largest team among the three—were ready and waiting. The giant body of the three-meter-tall great boar came charging in, spraying drool everywhere. It bore not only huge, vicious-looking tusks but also numerous horns on top of its snout.

'Damn, that's a terrifying sight all right. I get why the newcomers freaked out. So this is what a Rank C monster is like.'

Allen was watching everything unfold from further back. It was quite a distance, but even he could feel the tremors caused by the monster's stomping. He found himself somewhat overwhelmed by the scene.

"HERE WE GOOOO! EVERYONE, BRAAAAACE!"

"RAAAAAHHHHH!"

"GUMOOOOHHH!"

The group Gerda led, Team Two, was in charge of surrounding and stopping the great boar. They were equipped with two-meter-long spears— any longer and they might snap with the strain—that had broad spearheads on the end. These had been modified specifically for hunting great boars.

As the boar made contact with the wall of spears, the men roared with vigor and desperately braced themselves. If they lost their footing, they would be impaled with the monster's fangs and horns. The eleven all gritted their teeth and worked as one to offset the momentum of the charge.

When Team Two managed to lock the great boar's head down with their spears, Gerda shouted, "All right! It's stopped! Surround it! Rodin, do your thing!"

"You got it!" Rodin roared in response. "Y'all, let's go!"

"RAAAAAHHH!"

There were six people in Rodin's group, Team Three. They split into two smaller groups of three each, each approaching the boar's flank from opposing sides to deal the killing blow. They were aiming for the creature's jugular.

The great boar's head was huge and tough, and its back was also protected by very sturdy hide. The best way to kill it, therefore, was to deliver a fatal wound to its throat, which was relatively softer than all the other parts of its body.

This was a very structured hunt, with everyone having well-defined roles.

After doing this for ten years, they all knew what they were doing, and their teamwork was perfect.

'Everything so far is just as I'd been told. Okay, my idea should work, then.' Allen turned to the two newcomers who were on standby next to himself and said, "It's time. Do it like how my father taught you, please."

"O-Okay."

"Off we go."

This was finally the point when these two would get involved. They gripped their spears and stepped forward to join the mass of hunters struggling against the great beast, taking up position behind Gerda's team.

"Excuse us, coming in from behind!" they shouted in unison as the both of them thrust their spears over Team Two's shoulders.

"All right! Don't accidentally hit us!" Gerda responded over the ruckus.

The strategy that Allen had suggested to Rodin and Gerda this time was very simple. While the serfs used spears that were two meters long, the ones issued to the commoners this time were double that length at four meters.

With these in hand, they could attack from behind the team holding the boar.

Team One was in charge of pulling, Team Two was in charge of stopping the great boar and holding it down, and Team Three was in charge of finishing the beast off. All of them were inappropriate for including inexperienced newcomers—worst case, someone would die. And so Allen made the case that newcomers should not be put into any of the existing teams but should just stab from behind Team Two.

Under the furious barrage of stabs, the monster let out one final deafening squeal. Someone had finally managed to pierce its throat, unleashing a huge fountain of blood. The beast's movements gradually grew sluggish until its body ultimately slumped over, sending a tremor through the ground.

'Yes! Everything went perfectly!'

Just as Rodin and Gerda stepped forward to confirm the kill, the two commoners whooped loudly.

"AHHH! I OVERCAME A TRIAL!!!"

"TH-THE POWER! IT'S WELLING UP! THANK YOU, GOD!"

Seemingly having leveled up, they cheered loudly about overcoming a Trial of the Gods and stared at the spears they were holding, their hands trembling with emotion.

'So just thrusting their spears from the back still gave them enough XP to level up. In fact, since they're in Normal Mode, I assume they gained several levels from that single kill. Though they probably only perceived it as a single instance of "overcoming a Trial of the Gods."'

Allen summoned his grimoire to check if he had gotten anything. He looked over at the cover, but unfortunately, there was no new entry in the log.

'Gah! As I thought, I won't get any XP just standing here.'

Although Allen had expected this, getting the confirmation was still quite a downer. The strategy had gone well, but he himself had gotten nothing out of it. 'What a pity.'

With this, the idea for incorporating newcomers that Allen had come up with was confirmed to be effective and was thus adopted.