Chapter 7: Summoning Lvl. 5

“Heh heh heh, a mithril sword cuts so well!” Allen chuckled excitedly.

On this particular day off, he was once again far outside of Granvelle City. The other day, he had received a total of twenty gold for driving the murdergalsh from town and saving the family of a high-class inn’s owner. Allen had used this money, together with the five gold from his own savings, to buy a mithril sword.

As he was still only nine years old, a full-length sword would be too long for him to wield properly. He had therefore asked the weapons store to make him one halfway between a short sword and a dagger. Luckily, the owner was willing to lower the price from the original thirty gold since he used less mithril for the shorter weapon.

Hmm, the armor’s really tough, so I still can’t penetrate it directly. But the body inside is so soft I almost feel like I’m cutting through air.

Allen was currently testing out his new sword against an armored ant, comparing how it felt against the sword he had received from Dogora.

With this, I can now loot magic stones from armored ants.

The last time Allen had killed one of these monsters, he had had no other choice but to leave it virtually untouched, magic stone and all. This time, he clambered over the three-meter-tall body once more.

Damn, you really are huge.

When looking at the armored ant, the strange feeling that Allen had felt about the monsters in this world ever since he was six washed over him again. He had almost mistaken the albaheron—with its wingspan of over two meters—for a wyvern, only to be told later that it was merely Rank D. The great boar, which towered at more than three meters tall, had almost killed Rodin with a single blow, even though he should have raised his level quite high after ten years of hunting.

This strange feeling had only grown stronger when Allen came to Granvelle City. The muscular and vicious goblins were, again, only Rank D. Armored ants reached three meters in height and were protected by shells impervious against common weapons, but were Rank C. Orcs, which were two and a half meters tall and had enough intelligence to use weapons, also had the same ranking. And as discovered recently, the Rank B murdergalsh was capable of killing both knights and adventurers with a single stomp. Its very name evoked terror and, understandably, the reward for killing it went all the way up to two hundred gold.

It’s just...I can’t quite put my finger on it. I mean, it’s not like I’d ever seen monsters before coming to this world, but it’s like...they’re all one notch stronger than what I expected them to be?

Unfortunately, Allen’s attempt to articulate this indefinable feeling did not work out.

Never mind, I can think about this later. There’s something that I really want to test out today.

Allen had decided to lower his kill quota for the day to make time for looking into something he had discovered while being chased by the murdergalsh for three days and nights. He looked up at the sky and saw Bird Es circling above. He had instructed them before to immediately inform him when they spotted certain monsters or adventurers; those instructions now included the murdergalsh as well. After all, Allen had no idea where it had gone after he lost it in the foothills of the White Dragon Mountains. There was a chance that it might head back to attack Granvelle City again while he was out hunting.

According to Raven, the murdergalsh mainly popped up on the open roads between settlements, almost never launching a full-out assault on villages or cities. Allen recognized this behavioral pattern; it was the same as field boss monsters inside games.

Field bosses were powerful monsters unrelated to the main story or events that constantly roamed about the open areas of a game. After being killed, these bosses would simply respawn. They had a tendency to suddenly show up in areas where low-leveled players gathered and would wipe them all out. Technically, they could be considered the products born of the game developers’ playfulness.

Two Hawkins, come down. Another one of you, fly around for five minutes, then come back.

One of the Summons flew off in a random direction as two others came down. Allen reverted one of them into card form. This was the start of his experiment.

Hawkins, look at this.

Allen showed the Hawkins that remained on the ground a jute bag, making sure that it saw there was nothing inside. Then he took out a molmo and put it inside the bag. After that, he took out another molmo, a strip of jerky, and a dried potato, lining them up on the ground.

Now, Hawkins. Which of these did I just put into the bag? Peck at the answer with your beak.

The bird that had been watching Allen throughout the entire process chose the molmo without hesitation.

Okay, good job. Now, you come out.

Allen called out the Hawkins he had turned into a card earlier. This one had not seen him putting a molmo into the jute bag.

Tell me which of these items is inside the bag. Don’t guess—if you don’t know, don’t choose.

The Hawkins that had been in card form also chose the molmo without hesitation.

I see. So you really do know.

This result was exactly as Allen had expected. Just then, the bird that had flown five minutes away returned.

Come on down. Okay, good! Now you tell me which of these is inside this bag. If you don’t know, shake your head.

The bird shook its head.

All right, so you don’t know. That’s fine. Next, Create.

Allen used one magic stone to Create a new Bird E and Summoned it. He raised its Intelligence through Strengthening to give it the ability to understand speech, then asked it to also guess what was inside the jute bag.

It immediately chose the molmo.

As I’d suspected. So even the newly Created one knows. Now, Poppo, come out.

This time, Allen Summoned a Bird F. Once again, he Strengthened it, then asked it the same question.

Unlike the just-Created Bird E, this Bird F shook its head.

So you don’t know. Hmm, I guess being chased by the murdergalsh wasn’t a total waste of time.

Allen had run nonstop for three days and nights, forgoing even sleep. During that time, he had used Hawkins’s Ability, Hawk Eyes, to confirm the murdergalsh’s location. The monster that served as “it” in this deadly game of tag doggedly kept on Allen’s tail, doing everything in its power to find him. Somewhere along the way, it figured out that the hawks that flew up every now and then would return to where he was and therefore started following the birds in turn. On the ropes, Allen came up with the idea to order Hawkins not to return to where he was after locating the murdergalsh. When he Created a new Hawkins and told that one to go search for the murdergalsh, to his surprise it took off as if it already knew where the monster’s location was.

Seeing that, Allen made a mental note to properly explore how the Summons shared and passed on information and knowledge.

Let’s sum up what I just learned.

Allen had put a molmo into a bag in front of only one Bird E. The Bird E that he subsequently Summoned from a card as well as the one that he Created from scratch knew what he had done, whereas the one that had been out the entire time and the newly Created Bird F had no idea.

So it’s basically like this, then?

• A Summon’s knowledge is synced to the most up-to-date version whenever it is Created or Summoned.
• Knowledge is only shared within type and rank.

It’d have been so much more convenient without the fifty meter limit, but I guess there’s no point crying over it now.

Fifty Meter Rule

• Summons can only be called out from and returned to card form within fifty meters around Allen.
• Summons also need to be within fifty meters to receive the order from Allen to use their Abilities.

Allen looked at the Bird Es staring back at him, awaiting orders.

So you guys are constantly being updated, huh? In other words, you’re continuously accumulating knowledge and growing together with me.

Thanks to the deadly game of tag, Allen had received in this discovery a reward that he considered much more valuable than any amount of gold.

The Summons were conscious and were continuously adding to what they knew. As long as their Summoner, Allen, remained, they were existences that would continue to learn and grow in a process that surpassed even death.

＊ ＊ ＊

The year turned and it was now March. Allen was in the middle of a match in the garden of the Granvelle estate.

Clang! Clang!

Damn, he’s still completely overwhelming me.

Since it was March, Cecil’s oldest brother Mihai had returned home from Academy City again. The boy had readily agreed when Allen—whom he had thoroughly bested last year—asked for a rematch. The reason Allen wanted to do this was to gauge how fast someone in Normal Mode could grow. After all, information was a weapon too.

Since October of the previous year, Allen had shifted to hunting Rank C monsters. His kill count over the past six months was over two thousand, making him now Lvl. 28. His stats had gone up quite significantly, but apparently he was still inferior to Mihai in swordsmanship. Every move he tried was handily seen through, evaded, and parried. Mihai was smiling the entire bout, indicating that he was not even trying his best.

Ugh. I’ve worked so hard on both my levels and Sword Mastery, and I still can’t win. At least, not when I have twenty Grass E cards in stock.

For each single point of XP in Normal Mode, Hell Mode required a hundred. The curriculum at the Academy likely placed a lot of emphasis on helping students raise both their base and skill levels. Regardless of the details, their methods were effective. And as someone who needed a hundred times more XP to level up, Allen keenly felt how the gap between him and Mihai had opened up even more compared to last year.

The baron, baroness, Thomas, and Cecil had all gathered to spectate. Despite being the one who had requested the match, Allen lost quite quickly. Just like last time, his sword was knocked out of his hand, signaling the end.

“How wonderful! Master Mihai, you have grown yet even more skillful.”

In accordance with Mihai’s request, Captain Zenof had started calling him “Master” instead of “Young Master.”

“Thank you, Zenof. Allen, you have grown a lot as well.”

“No, no, I still have a long way to go in comparison to you, milord.”

When Allen replied to the praise modestly, the other boy extended a hand as if asking for a handshake. Naturally, Allen accepted it.

He did this also last year. I wonder if it’s a custom from the Academy?

“As expected of Cecil’s attendant. Allen, take care of my sister.”

“Of course, Master. I will serve her to the utmost of my ability.”

Mihai smiled, seemingly satisfied with Allen’s response.

“Which reminds me, you fought with a murdergalsh, right? How did it go? I want to hear all about it.”

I didn’t so much fight it as played tag with it. But being chased the entire time sucked; I wish I could’ve had a turn at being “it.”

Wondering which family member had told Mihai about that, Allen asked for permission to tell the story over lunch, as the lunch hour was near. Just as everyone was about to turn and head back indoors, a knight suddenly burst onto the scene.

“U-Urgent report, sir!”

Uh-oh, don’t tell me...

A sense of foreboding rose in Allen’s chest. The last time a knight had rushed in to give an urgent report was when the murdergalsh had shown up. Was the game of death tag about to begin anew?

“Mm?” The knight captain stepped up to his subordinate. “Speak.”

“Yes, sir! The white dragon has moved, sir!”

The baron cut in, his tone ecstatic. “Is that true?! Where?! Where has it moved to?!”

Zenof said, “Your Lordship, considering the time, how about we head inside to hear the details?”

What?! I wanna hear all about the white dragon’s movement too!

Allen was worried that the conversation would be moved to the conference room, but everyone headed to the dining room instead. He followed along happily, as this meant he would be allowed to hear the details as well.

In the year and a half he had served at the Granvelle mansion, Allen had seen multiple people bring in important information related to the management of the fiefdom. Depending on the degree of confidentiality of that information, the baron would at times order the room cleared.

Information at this level was for the ears of the baron and his direct family alone. Allen, along with all other servants, would be ordered to leave the room, even if it meant dropping whatever they were in the middle of doing. This had in fact occurred a few times during Allen’s service.

Discussions considered even more confidential would not be held in the dining room. The baron, butler, and knight captain would instead gather by themselves in the conference room, which was located next to the baron’s study on the third floor. At that time, no would be allowed on the floor, much less near the room.

This time, however, the information was not considered especially sensitive. In this case, everyone who normally served the baron’s immediate family as their personal attendants would also be privy to what was being said. The baron opted to have lunch while receiving the knight’s report.

Once everyone was settled, Zenof told the knight, “Continue your report.”

“Yes, sir. The adventurer party Silver Fang of the Gale reported finding that the white dragon has disappeared from its lair. They spent three days attempting to trace its tracks to no avail. Then they decided to return to Granvelle City to inform the Adventurer’s Guild first thing.”

“So, it’s finally moved away! It’s been so long!” Despite being in the middle of a meal, the baron was so overjoyed that he leaped to his feet with both hands clasped together, quivering. He was the very picture of a man overcome with emotion.

“We intend on requesting that Silver Fang of the Gale continue their search. That is all for my report, sir.”

After being dismissed, the knight exited the dining hall. The baron and knight captain promptly burst into discussion.

“I have been dreaming of this day for so long. Zenof, send men to confirm the state of the mithril mines.”

“Of course, my lord! However, we still do not know where the white dragon is. Should we not first prioritize confirming the location of its new lair?”

“Mm, I hear you. However, mithril mining is a duty of our realm. We must find out what has become of the mines as soon as possible.”

The two seemed to be having trouble seeing eye to eye. On one hand, the knight captain wished to prioritize locating the white dragon, whereas on the other, the baron wanted to reopen the mines that had lain dormant for over a hundred years with haste.

Mihai joined the conversation, his interest piqued. “Does this mean all the monsters between the city and mines need to be cleared?”

“Indeed, Master Mihai,” Zenof replied. “Once we are able to confirm that the white dragon has completely left our realm, we will need to immediately begin securing the four mines and the surrounding areas.”

“I still have a bit of time here. I’ll help out.”

“I’m afraid I cannot allow that, Master Mihai, as the white dragon may still be out there somewhere. Your safety is of utmost importance to us.”

The reason the knight captain had turned down Mihai’s offer to join the investigative effort was because he had determined that at his current strength, even Mihai would be in danger should he encounter the white dragon.

If I remember correctly, there are goblin and orc villages at the foot of the mountains.

Allen recalled what he had heard from Raven while listening to the ongoing conversation. The foothills of the White Dragon Mountains were supposedly covered in thick forestland and dotted with villages built up by goblins and orcs. Allen faintly remembered spotting something that might have fit that description when he was running away from the murdergalsh. Raven had also said that within those settlements were variant monsters that were a rank higher than their counterparts—that meant Rank C goblins and Rank B orcs.

As these superior species had much higher reproductive capabilities, villages with them would eventually overflow. The surplus population would then move from the mountain foothills toward Granvelle City or assault human villages and travelers. If the monsters got too numerous and caused too much damage, the chivalric order would have to be mobilized to fight them alongside the adventurers.

The area beyond the tree line farther up the mountain was supposedly filled with armored ant nests. Within these nests dwelled countless armored ants and, of course, individuals of the superior species: queen armored ants.

I see. So, the chivalric order might be dispatched to wipe out the goblin and orc villages. Well, I can’t have them beating me to the punch.

Allen was resolute to not allow the knights “steal” what he saw as “his” XP.

Through the investigation carried out over the next few months, it was confirmed that the white dragon had moved to the Carnel side of the White Dragon Mountains.

＊ ＊ ＊

Time passed after Mihai’s return to Academy City, and it was now early July. Allen was currently somewhere farther than a day’s walk from Granvelle City.

Okay, I’m far from town and my MP is full. Today’s gonna be dedicated entirely to testing and analysis!

Just the other day, Allen had finally reached Summoning Lvl. 5. This morning, he had not converted his MP to Skill XP as usual; instead, he planned on spending the whole day exploring every new thing he had obtained.

As level-up messages would disappear from the log after a certain period of time, he had hurriedly copied it down on one of the Memo pages. He now turned to that page to read over the message once more.

<The Skill XP of Synthesis has reached 1,000,000/1,000,000. Synthesis has reached Lvl. 5. Summoning has reached Lvl. 5. Expansion has reached Lvl. 4. You have obtained Sharing.>

Allen flipped to the page with his Status. So, the new skill that I gained from this level-up is Sharing.

---

Name: Allen
Age: 9
Class: Summoner
Level: 30
HP: 688 (765) + 140
MP: 1,062 (1,180) + 200
Attack: 374 (416) + 140
Endurance: 374 (416) + 20
Agility: 701 (779) + 60
Intelligence: 1,071 (1,190) + 40
Luck: 609 (779) + 200

Skills: Summoning {5}, Creation {5}, Synthesis {5}, Strengthening {5}, Expansion {4}, Storage, Sharing, Deletion, Sword Mastery {3}, Throwing {3}

XP: 2,516,810/3,000,000

Skill Levels
Summoning: 5
Creation: 5
Synthesis: 5
Strengthening: 5

Skill Experience
Creation: 10/10,000,000
Synthesis: 0/10,000,000
Strengthening: 680/10,000,000

Creatable Summons
Insect: D, E, F, G, H
Beast: D, E, F, G, H
Bird: D, E, F, G
Grass: D, E, F
Stone: D, E
???: D

Holder
Insect: E x 2
Beast: E x 14
Bird: E x 4
Grass: E x 20
Stone:
???:

---

This level-up took me over two years, and I’m gonna need 30,000,000 Skill XP for the next one. The numbers are starting to get out of hand.

Naturally, Allen left a record whenever he leveled up. In a way, this was an album of the major milestones in his path as a Summoner.

Record of Level-Ups

• 1 year & 0 months old: Obtained grimoire, Summoning Lvl. 1, gained access to Rank H Summons
• 1 year & 10 months old: Summoning Lvl. 2, obtained Synthesis
• 3 years & 0 months old: Gained access to Rank G Summons
• 5 years & 11 months old: Summoning Lvl. 3, obtained Strengthening, gained access to Rank F Summons
• 7 years & 9 months old: Summoning Lvl. 4, obtained Storage, gained access to Rank E Summons
• 9 years & 10 months old: Summoning Lvl. 5, obtained Sharing, gained access to Rank D Summons

Well then, let’s start with checking the holders. Expansion leveled up, which means there should be fifty pockets now, right?

Each level-up of the Expansion skill so far had given Allen ten more pockets to store cards in. The last level-up had put him at forty slots, so he expected to now have fifty slots.

Mm, just as I thought. Fifty. This is gonna boost my stats quite a lot.

Since Expansion leveled up every time Summoning did, Allen did not feel particularly moved by it anymore. However, access to ten more storage slots and cards one rank higher meant that his maximum stat boosts had shot up considerably.

Next thing... Hm, I should go over the new skill first, and then take my time with the Rank D Summons.

Six Summons had been added under Rank D. It would presumably take some time to go through them all, so Allen decided to first examine Sharing, which he could likely get out of the way faster.

First of all, it doesn’t seem to be a skill that makes my Summons stronger, so this is something completely distinct from Strengthening.

Allen had been gradually increasing the rank of the monsters he hunted. His main targets at the moment were Rank C, but he wanted to move on to Rank B monsters as soon as possible. The reason for this was because, as his level continued going up, the amount of XP that he needed for successive level-ups rose in tandem. In order to reach Lvl. 31, he now needed 3,000,000 XP. That meant two thousand orcs, even though he could only find forty or fifty of them after one full day of running around. It was obvious that in order to earn higher XP values, he needed to kill higher-ranked monsters. To make matters worse, it was getting harder and harder to find orcs around these parts, most likely because he had more or less culled their population.

Storage ended up being a pretty incredible skill too, so I think I can get my hopes up for Sharing, right? Hmm, based on the name, I imagine it enables me to share something with my Summons? Hawkins, come out.

“Pii!”

Allen called out one Bird E to test on.

Okay... Sharing!

Without hesitation, he activated the new skill.

“Huh?! It’s...me?!”

Suddenly Allen found himself staring at...himself. There were a few mirrors in the Granvelle mansion, including a big one in the servants’ dining hall for anyone who wanted to fix their appearance in a hurry. Ever since becoming a manservant, Allen had picked up the habit of examining his entire figure in a mirror. And that was exactly what he felt like he was doing right now.

Ohhhhh! This is Hawkins’s field of view! So I’m seeing what it’s seeing!

In short, the Sharing skill enabled Allen to, well, share his Summons’ eyes.

What’s this? It doesn’t feel strange at all, even though I’m seeing both Hawkins’s and my field of view at the same time. Hawkins, look around in several directions.

Just because Allen was seeing what Hawkins was seeing, it did not mean his own vision was obscured. For Allen, the fact that this did not feel strange at all was strange in and of itself. The Bird E moved its head to look all around.

Hmm, I can still see both fields of view just fine even when Hawkins is moving a lot.

The activation of this skill did not place any extra burden on Allen’s sense of sight whatsoever; it did not even feel unnatural, let alone make him dizzy. He could see and comprehend two fields of view at the same time with no issues at all.

All right, Hawkins, fly up!

The Bird E flapped its wings and soared into the sky. When it stopped to look back down, Allen was able to see the land spread out below. The horizon that he had been unable to see before due to all the trees now lay clearly in view.

Th-This is incredible! What a moving sight! Hawkins, try flying a little.

Just as ordered, Hawkins started flying forward slowly, with Allen still seeing through its eyes.

Just amazing! What even is this? Oh, right, Hawkins, use Hawk Eye— WHOOAA! Are you serious?! I can even Share what it sees when it’s using its Ability!

When Allen ordered Hawkins to activate its Ability, Hawk Eye, he found his vision opening up even farther, reaching several kilometers into the distance. Bird E’s capability to spot anything that moved within a radius of several kilometers was conveyed directly to Allen’s eyes.

It almost feels like I took over Hawkins’s body. Hold on, when I’m in this state, can I give it instructions even farther than fifty meters away?

When one fact was revealed, another question popped up. Up until this point, Allen had only been able to give instructions to his Summons if they were within a fifty meter radius of him. He now wanted to test how far he could continue giving instructions to a Summon when Sharing its sight.

Upon being commanded to do so, the Bird E flew on until it was more than fifty meters away from Allen’s position.

Okay, that’s enough. Now, stop using Hawk Eye.

As soon as he gave the order, Allen found his sight through Hawkins’s eyes returning to normal. In other words, he had successfully given it an instruction that it obeyed from more than fifty meters away. What’s more, the link through Sharing was still going strong, entirely unaffected by the distance. In his excitement, Allen continued giving the Summon various orders, making it fly circles, swoop low, do barrel rolls, and everything else he could think of. Bird E carried everything out while staying over fifty meters away.

Allen now had a way to directly give his Summons instructions regardless of distance.

“This is basically multiboxing! No, this is even better!”

Allen was so excited that he ended up shouting out loud. He recognized the basic concept behind this Sharing skill. Back when he was Kenichi, he had controlled two characters at the same time when playing a game before. This was called “multiboxing.” There were even some game companies that recommended this playstyle, as players had to pay a monthly subscription fee for each and every account they played on.

That naturally led to the question of why someone would go so far as to pay the subscription fee twice, thrice, or even more times on top of buying more game consoles and additional monitors in order to multibox. The answer was simple: since it was still the same person behind all the different characters, so they could keep all the drops. What was more, doing this also saved the time that would normally be required to find party members.

In order to multibox, Kenichi had indeed purchased multiple monitors and consoles. Allen still remembered how it felt playing two characters at the same time, the rush of busily looking between two screens and desperately manipulating two controllers.

His current situation was a huge upgrade compared to the past. He could see and comprehend both his and Hawkins’s sight at the same time. Even though he was seeing the sky and the ground at the same time, it did not feel awkward in the slightest.

“I see, so this is the effect of Sharing. Hm? Wait, is this even more incredible than I’d thought?”

A certain possibility popped up into Allen’s mind, suggesting a massive change to what he was capable of as a Summoner.

Can I use Sharing to make my Summons hunt far away from where I am? Can I make a hunting party composed solely of my Summons?

Currently, Allen needed to run throughout the entire forest to do his hunting. As soon as his Bird Es would find a target, he would then run over to kill it. Rinse and repeat. The fact that he could give his Summons instructions from farther than fifty meters away using the Sharing skill opened up the possibility of hunting without him having to do all that running around. What’s more, Summons could remain Summoned for thirty days. If they could operate independently with no distance limitations, then Allen could continue hunting even when he was back at the mansion. This would be a complete game changer for his leveling up.

Before I get ahead of myself, let’s first check how many Summons I can Share with at the same time. Hawkins, come out.

Three more Bird Es appeared before Allen. He activated Share with all of them. Now, he was looking at a total of five fields of vision, including his own.

So, no problems Sharing with four at once. Honestly, how do I not feel strange about seeing five things at the same time?

In his previous life, Allen’s limit for multiboxing was only two characters, though he had heard of masters who could control four. Now, however, he was feeling no strain at all from using the Sharing skill. He was seeing five fields of vision as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Honestly, this is less multiboxing and more parallel thinking. All right, I don’t have any more Hawkinses in store, so, Tama, come out.

Allen Shared the sight of each Summon that came out in turn. But then...

“AAARRRGHHHHH!”

Right after Sharing with the sixth Summon, Allen’s head became racked by a terrible pain. It was so bad that he crumpled to the ground, clutching his skull. He disabled the sixth Sharing link in a fluster.

Huh? The headache’s gone. Oh man, I thought I was gonna die. So, Sharing can be disabled. I got a really bad headache with the sixth one. Does it mean the limit for Sharing is five? Is it five within the same rank?

Although the pain scared him, Allen saw the need to confirm how many Summons he could Share with at the same time. He Deleted an Insect E card, then apprehensively Created and Summoned an Insect G card.

All right, here goes. Share with Hopp— ARGH!

A severe headache struck Allen once more when he attempted to Share with Insect E as the sixth Summon.

Is five just a flat limit regardless of rank? Why is that?

Along with Summoning’s recent level-up, Allen could now call out a total of fifty Summons at any given moment. It would be an incredible pity if he could only Share with five of them. He pondered why five was the limit for Sharing. Since he did not have enough information, he took another look at his own Status.

Just like Storage, Sharing can’t be leveled up. At first glance, it might seem like this skill has no potential for improvement and that the limit will stay at five permanently. The thing is, I don’t understand why the limit was set at five. What could be the reason?

The gears in Allen’s mind continued turning. Was this skill arbitrarily capped at five, or was there a certain condition that limited him to five for now? If it was due to a condition, then what was it?

Would it go up if I leveled up more? I’m Lvl. 31 right now. Is it, like, I can Share with another Summon every six levels? What else? Wait a minute...is this where Intelligence comes in?!

The moment Allen saw the Intelligence field on his Status, an epiphany came to him. That stat was currently 1,075 including the boosts from his cards. Perhaps this was the condition that determined how many he could Share with concurrently. This was a theory he could test without having to level up.

If Intelligence really is the condition, it would mean every 200 points in Intelligence enables me to Share with another Summon. Let’s try raising the stat. Ah, might as well do it with Rank D Summons.

Since he had more slots and access to Rank D Summons, Allen decided to Create a few Bird D cards with the aim of bringing his Intelligence up to 1,200. If his hypothesis was correct, this should enable him to Share with a sixth Summon.

All right, I’ve got 1,200 Intelligence now.

Thanks to the buffs from the Bird D cards, Allen had reached the number he wanted. The Hopper that he had Summoned earlier was still there, right next to him.

Okay. Hopper, Share.

Allen had braced himself, ready to disable Sharing right away if he got another terrible headache. However, this worry turned out to be unwarranted. He found himself seeing a perspective barely an inch higher than the ground, the lowest that he had ever been situated.

“Hell yeah! The sixth Share worked! It really is Intelligence! Sharing is tied to Intelligence! And it really is 200 Intelligence for each Share!”

There were few things as moving as proving one’s own hypothesis. Allen whooped from the sense of achievement that washed over him. About an hour later, he had figured out almost everything there was to know about the skill.

• Does not cost MP to use
• Can Share with one additional Summon per 200 Intelligence
• Shares consciousness with a Summon; can instruct it to use its Ability or carry out other commands
• Cannot command another Summon through a Shared Summon
• The only senses that can be Shared are sight and sound (taste has not been tested)
• The Summon has to be within 50 meters to activate Sharing
• Sharing can be disabled even when the Summon is farther than 50 meters away
• Summons with under 100 Intelligence cannot perceive instructions even while Shared
• Shared Summons can be returned to card form from farther than 50 meters away
• When a Summon is returned to card form from over 50 meters away, the card automatically reappears in a slot

And I think that’s about it. So I’m not personally controlling the Summons, only giving them instructions. I don’t actually take over their bodies.

As Allen was only instructing the Summons he was Sharing with, there was a small time lag between him giving orders and the Summons carrying those orders out. His theory was that in order to shorten this lag, he had to consciously visualize what it was that he wanted the Summon to do.

And last note to add to the list: I still get the XP when my Summons kill monsters more than fifty meters away from me.

Allen had set up an impromptu squad of Summons and had them go kill a monster. As a result, his XP had gone up. He now knew that his plan to farm XP remotely could actually be realized.

I see, so this is the reason the Summoning class has such high Intelligence.

Last year in November, Allen had received a lesson with Cecil’s magic tutor as a reward for his first year of service. At the time, he had been absolutely crushed to find out that he could not use magic. As it turned out, however, there was indeed a startling reason behind why his class had Rank S Intelligence.

In the video games that Allen had played as Kenichi, most magic-using classes relied on stats like Intelligence and Wisdom. In line with this, he had learned from his lesson with the tutor that using magic in this world required memorizing a countless number of very complicated symbols. This was a feat that would be impossible for a normal person, equally impossible as Allen instantaneously processing information from multiple fields of view. It was the Intelligence stat that made such impossibilities possible. Allen now finally understood the importance of Intelligence in this world.

I’ll need more time to work out the kind of things I can do using Sharing. All right, let’s move on to examining the Rank D Summons now. I’ve got a shit ton of Rank D magic stones, so let’s get through this pronto.

Thanks to Sharing, Allen felt the scope of his powers as a Summoner practically blown wide open. Now he was moving on to discovering what his new Summons could do.