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

First Battle

　Every year in the fall and winter, the Albaherons fly from south to north. It has been six years since he was born in the serf village, but Allen has never left the village. This magical beast had taught him the vastness of the world and the flow of the seasons.

　Allen’s name was given to him by his father, Rodan, in the hope that he would be like Albaheron, who moved freely through the heavens.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

　That Albaheron has descended from the heavens to the earth. Apparently, G-rank Insect Pyotan’s special skill, Provocation, can lure magical beasts. I don’t know how effective it is, but the Albaheron seems to be agitated by the provocation.

　It was about four meters from end to end on both wings, and over two meters from foot to head. It seemed to be twice as tall as Allen. Its feathers were white on its body. The white feathers turn blue-black as they reach the tips of the wings.

　A space about 10 meters in diameter that Allen had created by trampling down weeds. Albaheron landed in the center of it. Then, out of the center of the circle, in the midst of the still-growing weeds, Allen lowered his body and hid himself.

(Huh? I was trying to catch a wild bird and Albaheron came down on me!)

　I was surprised, but hardly bothered to think about what to do. Or maybe if I just hid myself like this, it would just take off and go away.

　Maybe it was because at the edge of my brain I had heard the words when I was one year old. Rodan had eaten Albaheron and said it was delicious. Or maybe it was due to the gamer’s instinct to fight when I see a magical beast.

　There was only one thing to do. I grabbed a rock the size of a baseball that I had left on the ground.

　As the second Pyotan disappeared, I threw a stone with all my strength.

　Using all the strength in my body that was increased by the blessings and Throwing Level 3 made me able to throw the stone several times faster than an adult could throw, and it headed straight for Albaheron’s face.

　Sploosh

“Ggaaaaaaah.”

　The stone that struck him in the face crushed his right eye. Albaheron cries out in pain from the unexpected attack and the loss of one eye.

　I picked up another stone and threw it with all my strength. This time, it hit his long neck, and his neck flexed greatly. His head shook violently.

　The two throws dropped Albaheron on his knees.

(It’s working pretty well! Oh, yes! I defeated my first magical beast!)

　I grabbed my wooden sword and started dancing out into the grass circle I had created. I closed the distance between Albaheron and me at once, and as if jumping up, I swung my wooden sword at its neck.

　Albaheron’s neck was bent wide by the wooden sword that I swung with all my weight on it. I pushed it further. I wanted to defeat him right then and there.

　But while Albaheron was damaged, he was not in the state of dying. He put all his strength into his neck and blew Allen away with all his weight on him. He was still alive.

“What?”

　I voiced out my surprise. I rolled over the weeds.

(Oh no… Pochi and the others, cover me!)

　Fifteen strengthened F-rank Beast cards came out of the Grimoire at once. In an instant, the 15 cards that come out begin to glow all at once. They become summoned beasts at a speed with almost no time difference.

“‘One!”

　The beast F was about the same size as an Akita dog and was a light brown dog. It barks and surrounds Albaheron.

“Use Bite, Pochi!”

　Bite is the special skill of F-rank Beast. The beasts obeyed my order and lashed out at Albaheron’s legs, wings, and neck.

“Gaaaaaaaah!”

　Albaheron is bitten all over by the Pochis, and squeals loudly. However, although he is damaged, it does not seem to be a fatal wound. He kicked Pochis with his reptilian legs.

　Albaherons are not that quick on the ground, but they are very powerful. He kicked Pochis higher than the tall grass.

(If I don’t do something, I’m going to end up like this!)

　One by one, the summoned beasts are being bitten by his large beaks or killed by his large clawed feet. Each time the summoned beast turns into a glowing bubble, the blessing I receive is gone as well. So, I hurriedly created a F-rank Beast, strengthened it, and summoned it from the card. However, I only have 47 mana. And after summoning two of them, I’ve run out of mana.

(Damn, this D-rank magical beast is too strong. I guess I won’t be able to beat him at level 1!)

　Just when I was about to give up.

　Albaheron’s large feet attacked me. I unintentionally used my wooden sword as a shield, but I couldn’t stop the kick completely and was blown backwards.

　It didn’t stop there. As I rolled over the weeds in the fallow field, Albaheron used his big, claw-like feet to attack me. His big feet pinned me to the ground. Then, the beak of the Albaheron struck me in the face. In a panic, I used my wooden sword to prevent myself from being bitten.

(Oh, no, I’m gonna die.)

　This was the first time I had a premonition of death. The strengthened F-rank Beast was chewing on his entire body, but Albaheron was unfazed and trying to eat me. He is more powerful than me. I could see the jagged teeth on his beak and the back of his throat.

　The tip of Albaheron’s beak hit my cheek. My cheek got cut and blood started flowing. The wooden sword that I hold desperately in both arms was twisting and was to break. Death was getting closer and closer.

　As I was pinned down to the ground, I desperately tried to think of a way out.

“What do I do? Think! Me!”

　Never have I been more grateful for the tens of thousands of hours of gaming I did in my previous life than at this moment. There is one thing that I have gained from all those games and all those hours of play. It is experience. Thanks to the vast amount of experience I have accumulated, when I see the name of a skill, technique, or magic, I can usually guess what effect it will have.

　I then shouted frantically, with no time for the Grimoire to come to me.

“Chu! Come on out!”

　While being held down on the ground, I summoned the strengthened F-rank Insect Chu. Chu was a leech, like a large sea cucumber in the ocean.

“Chu, Suction.”

“Chuu!”

　With a squeal, Chu contracts his muscles from their sea cucumber state into a volleyball-like mass. It then leaps at the neck of Albaheron, who was about to eat me.

“Gaaaaaah!”

　Chu started sucking Albaheron’s neck and he tried to shake Chu off. I managed to free myself from Albaheron’s legs.

　Chu’s body started flashing blue.

“Oh! He’s sucking something alright. I knew it was some kind of energy-draining skill.”

　Allen’s prediction was correct. It was an F-rank Insect special skill Suction that he hadn’t researched yet.

　I don’t know what Chu’s sucking on, his strength or his attack power, but I summon another F-rank Insect. The second Chu started sucking Albaheron’s thigh and started flashing blue as well.

Pochi started to assist Chu by using Bite.

　The Albaheron kicked me but I was able to block with my wooden sword this time. It’s not as powerful as it used to be. I jumped and slammed my wooden sword into his neck and was able to drop him down successfully this time.

(Oh, so this lowers strength. I couldn’t pull him down last time.)

　The strength was reduced due to the two F-rank Insects special skill sucking. I put my weight on Albaheron and knocked him backwards to the ground.

　I continued to hold the wooden sword with all weight on it against his neck and tried to choke him to death. A few minutes pass.

　The Grimoire appeared and glowed faintly.

(Oh, there’s something in the logs.)

“Defeated 1 Albaheron. You have acquired 100 experience points.”

　A log of the defeat and the acquisition of experience was shown in silver letters.

“Oh! I won, I won!”

　In front of me is an Albaheron’s corpse.

　It was my first time to defeat a magical beast. Decades ago, when I was seven or eight years old as Kenichi, a memory came back to me. Apparently, some parts of my current event overlapped with my memories from that time.

(Oh, so this is what it’s like to beat a monster for the first time. I think I know what it feels like when the main character of some game is handed a small coin as he leaves the village at the age of 16 or 17, and he fights a monster for the first time outside the village where he was born and raised. I haven’t left the village yet, though.)

　It brings back memories of real-world games where you bought a stick or something like that with your spare change, worked hard to level up around the city, and then went back to the inn when your energy was depleted.

(But then again, D-rank monsters are pretty strong. And I have to kill 10 of them to gain 1000 experience points to raise my level. Well, I am only level 1, and the summoned beasts are also only F-ranks.)

　Experience 100/1000

　While checking the experience gained and analyzing the battle, I return all the summons to their cards and the stones to their baskets.

　Holding the basket in one hand and the wooden sword in my waistband, I lift Alaheron. I wanted to bring it home with as little damage to his body as possible, but his feet and the edges of his wings rubbed against the ground. I am too small.

　Carrying Albaheron on my back, I started my journey home.

　When I went to the front door, I saw a girl standing in the garden. It was Kurena.

(Huh? I thought I said I can’t play today.)

“Oh, what happened?”

　Kurena was surprised to see scratches on Allen’s face and body, and some bleeding, probably from the grass. She hurriedly went to the house to report to Rodan and Teresia.

“Wait, what? Oh, Allen!

　Teresia hugged me and touched me to make sure I wasn’t seriously injured.

“I’m not hurt, Mother. I caught an Albaheron.”

　Allen reported that he was safe and that he had captured the Albaheron, pointing towards his back.

　This battle with Albaheron was Allen’s first battle as a summoner.