BXBX NOVEL Vol. 3 - Chapter 151 - Development Village
It is now the middle of April.
During this time, I have conquered one B-class dungeon while carrying Sophie and others, and it looks like we'll be able to conquer our second dungeon by the end of April.
In the second year, Cecile and I were told to take a new class by our homeroom teacher.
That class was for students who would be future commanders in the army. Rifol and Worcester were also told to attend that class.
It was a class mainly focusing on battle tactics.
When I looked at the students who attended the class, many of them seemed to be from Noble families or leaders of their parties.
Apparently, they are making decisions based on family background and one year of Academy life.
I can understand to a certain degree why Nobles are being considered for the commanding role on the battlefield. Well, I personally think that it would be fine if a Noble is my commander.
If you ask a commoner or a serf whether he wants to be commanded by a commoner or a Noble in a battlefield, I think most would want to be commanded by a Noble.
Nobles are also accustomed to giving orders to their servants. Naturally, they are not accustomed to receiving instructions from their commoner servants.
There is no need to set up a chain of command that would ignore the current national system.
I've also started something else this year: training everyone in the classroom.
Perhaps because of my influence, the students in my classroom are more advanced in dungeon conquering than those in other classrooms.
There are many parties in my class that can go to B-class dungeons. However, the rank of the magical beasts that appear in B-class dungeons goes up from D to C.
I've told them about traps such as the Summon Trap, but I don't want them to push themselves. I don't want them to force themselves to become strong.
If it's too much for their party, we'll help them.
I have no problems going to dungeons with students from other classrooms and helping them conquer it.
C-rank magical beasts are no match for an awakened Maria, and even one Maria can change the course of the battle. However, I have also told them that there is a limit to the number of summons that I can utilize at the same time, so I can't help them as I'd like.
Our Extra skills training has also begun.
In the afternoon class, Kurena asked her homeroom teacher to teach her how to activate her Extra skills.
It seems that Extra skills are taught in the third year, but when I talked with him about the circumstances of us reaching Level cap, he told us that we had no choice.
Cecile, Dogora, and Kiel, who have also reached Level cap also asked their instructors to teach them how to activate their Extra skills.
I hope that everyone will be able to activate their Extra skill at will as soon as possible. The assassin Dagraha seemed to be able to use them freely at will, so I'm sure they'll be able to do it over time.
"Finally!"
I landed at a bleak spot along the river as F-rank Bird Poppo(Pigeon).
There was a dense forest in front of me, and a reasonably large river flowing through the forest.
"Oh, oh. You've arrived. You're Allen, right?"
My father, Rodan, called out to me in a hesitant voice. A hundred or so poorly dressed serfs were watching the conversation between the two of us. They looked pretty freaked out.
"Allen, is that you? I've never seen a bird talk before."
"It's been a long time. Uncle Gerda."
{TLN: Allen calls Gerda 'Gerda-san' but without --san, it would be too rude in English. So, I made it to Uncle Gerda.}
It's been a long time since I had a conversation with Gerda, the gorilla-like father of Kurena. Probably since I left the village to become a manservant.
"Oh! Boars! Are we going to kill them?"
Mash, grasping what looks like a long spear, reacts to the large C-rank Beast by Poppo(Allen).
"No, these guys are my friends, we're here to help. So don't attack them."
"Oh, I see. Ok."
(Hmmm... Mash is growing well, isn't it? Good, good.)
This time, I sent three C-rank Beasts, one C-rank Spirit and one Bird of DEF-rank, for a total of seven summons to help the new village.
"Oh, Dad, and Uncle Gerda, just check this Boar's bag for me."
"Bag? This tied up bag? Is this a spear?"
"What the hell is this? It's red. Is it rusty? But it's so slippery."
From the bag Gerda had unloaded from C-rank Beast, he picked up a spear of Heliocane he had never seen before.
Not only the tip of the spear, but the grip as well, is all made of Heliocane.
"That's Heliocane. I have brought two Heliocane spears."
"What the heck is Heliocane? Is it stronger than steel?"
Rodan asked me in a puzzled manner. Maybe he had never heard the word "Heliocane" before.
"Well, I also brought ten Mithril spears."
""Huh! Mithril spears!?""
The serfs crowded around the unloaded luggage. But only about half of them reacted. They must have heard of 'Mithril' because of some Knight or adventurer.
In the bag that I brought this time, it had:
2 Heliocane spears
2 Heliocane shields
10 Mithril spears
12 Mithril armors
300 Gold coins
In addition, I also brought dozens of hoes, saws, and other tools necessary for farming.
These were divided and strapped to the back of C-rank Beast and brought here all the way from the Academy city.
After listening to my explanation, Rodan and Gerda said, "There exists a material more amazing than Mithril..." as they looked at the red shining spear of the Heliocane.
This weapon, of course, is for defeating magical beasts, mainly Great Boars. Boar hunting will begin in the fall. Rodan and Gerda will use the Heliocane spears.
The total amount of supplies this time cost about 1,500 Gold coins, but after discussing it with everyone, we divided the cost among us. I paid 50% of the cost, Dogora and Kurena paid 20% each, Cecile paid 10%, and Kiel didn't pay anything.
This is spending for my, Kurena and Dogora's hometown so only the three of us were supposed to pay. Cecile didn't listen to me and insisted on shouldering the cost. So I asked her to pay 10% of the total amount.
Kiel wanted to pay as much as Cecile, but I convinced him that he should save money for the Family he wanted to protect and for the future revival of his Family.
Dogora's parents were not here yet. It seems that the commoners will be migrating next year, and Dogora's parents have also decided to move to Rodan village.
As a result of the discussion, it was decided that the four of us would share the cost together, but since I was the one who proposed the idea in the first place, I invested the most.
My Summon Squad's efficiency in hunting magical beasts in A-class has dramatically increased now that my
<Strengthening>
skill has reached Level 7. When my<Strengthening>
was Level 6, B-class dungeons were more efficient in economical aspects.<Strengthening>
<Strengthening>
Even so, I still forced my Summon Squad to go to A-class dungeons to level-up faster. But now, A-class dungeons are more efficient than B-level dungeons, not only in terms of experience but also in terms of money.
I earn over 2,000 Gold coins a month apart from the party. I have over 20,000 Gold coins in my possession as savings.
Naturally, I've been saving it for when a Mana Recovery Ring or Orichalcum weapons and armor come up for auction, but I have never found them being listed at the Adventurer Guild's auction list. I'm currently asking them to check the listings of the entire Kingdom. The Adventurer Guild is quite supportive for some reason.
I'll leave the management of weapons, armor and money to Rodan and Gerda. Or rather, I'll leave it to my mother, Theresia, and Kurena's mother, Michilda.
Arriving in the early afternoon, C-rank Beast helped with the cultivation of the land with a group of young farmers gathered from around the territory.
The area to be cultivated is a sparsely forested area in front of the forest.
There are no grasslands in Granvelle territory. Even the plains are sparsely covered with trees. These trees are removed to make way for fields and living spaces. The removed trees are then used as building materials and fences.
"Blah, blah, blah."
"Boo-hoo-hoo!"
Muras is not afraid of magical beasts. Mash isn't as well. I'll have to talk to Rodan about this.
Muras is full of energy on the back of C-rank Beast.
The energetic Muras wanted to ride on it's back, so I told her to be careful not to fall off and put her on it's back.
I was a little worried by Muras's lack of fear of magical beasts, so I came up with a plan.
Despite my plan,
Blink
""What?""
The serfs screamed in surprise. They were so surprised that they dropped their pickaxes without a second thought.
The C-rank Beast bit on the base of a 10 metre tall tree, and pulled it out with all its might. It has an [Attack] of 1,500 after I used
<Strengthening>
on it. It can even kill a Madegarsh in one attack.<Strengthening>
It pulled three of those tall trees out one by one.
Unlike people and magical beasts, my summons do not get tired. They don't need to eat or sleep. They proceeded with the cultivation of the land without rest.
And just before evening. The serfs were gathered. The village only had shacks, since they only arrived last week.
After another hard day's work, Theresia, Michilda and the other ladies prepared dinner. It's a simple dish of barley porridge, potatoes and beans that I miss.
(We're still short on meat. I have to work harder and help them cultivate the land faster!)
There was a lot of noise outside the village when everyone was gathered at one place.
"'It's a Boar. We've got a stray Boar!"
One of the farmers who had been keeping watch came back in a hurry. This is still a place with no fences or anything where magical beasts can roam. It is not a safe place.
"Weapons, take up your weapons. Protect the women and children!"
Rodan started to tell everyone what to do. The children began to tremble.
"Don't worry,~Death. I used Master Allen's summons to bring you dinner."
""Dinner?""
Then the Boar finally came to the center of the village. It looked like a Great Boar that didn't return to the White Dragon Mountains in the winter. They are called stray Boars here.
I did my best to bring the Great Boar to the center of the village using
<Sharing>
and Eagle.<Sharing>
As if to say, "It's my role from here on out." Maria floated up to the front of the serfs.
"Buh-hi-hin!!!"
The Great Boar was kicking the dirt with its feet, looking menacing.
Then, it rushed in, gaining momentum.
Rodan and Gerda tried to tell everyone to back off even more.
"Die, ~Death!"
Maria mumbled a few words, and a gray ball the size of a volleyball flew towards the Great Boar with tremendous force.
When it hit the hard outer skin of the Great Boar's head, the Boar's head exploded into pieces.
""What?""
Rodan, Gerda, and the serfs all froze when they saw the headless Great Boar take a few steps and fall to the side.
(Now Muras should know how scary magical beasts can be.)
"This is tax-free meat, ~Death."
Maria said with a smile. Development villages are not required to pay taxes for two years. For the next three years, the rate will be reduced to 30%. And after the sixth year, the tax collection rate will be 60%.
When I checked on Muras, I found her freaking out and clinging to Mash.
In this fence-less village, Allen didn't want his sister to be too rambunctious and go outside the village. Seeing Muras's dismay at the sight of the magical beast that attacked the village, he thinks this is just another form of education.
In this way, the unconventional cultivation with the help of summoned beasts proceeded.