Chapter 1: I Reincarnated as a Serf
Chapter 1: I Reincarnated as a Serf
So warm.
Kenichi came to and realized that he had lost consciousness. To his surprise, he now found himself submerged in liquid that was around the temperature of a heated pool.
Wait, I’m not breathing!
The realization that he was about to drown sent him into a panic. For some reason, however, he felt incredibly weak and could not move his body as he wanted.
Shit, I’m going to die at this ra— Uh, hold on. I’m not breathing, but I’m not exactly gasping for breath either. What’s happening to me?
Despite being unable to see or breathe within this warm liquid, Kenichi felt completely fine. In fact, he even felt peaceful, as if all the mental fatigue that had been accumulating from his high-stress corporate job was melting away. So he simply gave himself up to the tranquility and let time pass.
Ten days later, a jolt of unease suddenly shot through Kenichi. It was a very strange sensation, one that he had never experienced before.
Hold on, is this...? Ugh, I’m being squeezed!
It was as if his entire body were being crushed. As before, however, he could not muster any strength into his limbs. He could not see, and he could not hear. All he had was his consciousness. And just when the squeezing let up, Kenichi felt himself being dunked into what felt like lukewarm liquid again.
I can’t breathe!
Although he had been all right with not breathing until now, he all at once felt desperate for air. As he flailed around in distress, he suddenly felt an impact on his behind that was abruptly followed by more in quick succession. He realized that he was being slapped.
That hurts! Whaddaya think you’re doing?!
“WAAAAAHHHH! WAAAAAAHHHH!”
“He’s breathing! Theresia, you did it!”
“Oh, honey...”
It was Kenichi’s first time hearing these voices. His eyes and ears still could not see or hear clearly, but he identified what he heard as Japanese.
Now that his airway was clear, he took a deep breath of the oxygen that his lungs sought so badly. After being lifted from the warm water, something strange and rough enveloped his body. Things finally settled down a while later.
Yeah, there’s no doubt about it—I’ve been reincarnated. I can’t be more grateful. That said, why did I regain my consciousness before my birth?! Couldn’t it have been when I turned five or something?!
＊ ＊ ＊
Six months passed. Kenichi spent that time constantly surveying his surroundings. His eyesight gradually improved, as did his hearing. He also became capable of crawling around, which widened his sphere of activity by quite a bit.
“Do you want to go beddy-bye, Allen?”
“Yah!”
One thing that had become clear to Yamada Kenichi within this time was that his new name in this world was Allen. And although he had not been able to select his gender, he had reincarnated as male once again.
The person currently holding him was his mother, Theresia. She was a very pretty woman with green eyes and brown hair that was always tied up in a ponytail. Age-wise, she was almost twenty.
Theresia gently placed Allen back in his bed—a small frame with wooden railings—and pulled his coarse hemp blanket up to his shoulders.
“Theresia, I’m home!”
This next person entering from the part of the house with an earthen floor was a man with a solid build, covered in sweat and smeared all over with dirt. This was Allen’s father, Rodin. He had brown hair like Theresia’s and a rugged face. His build was quite sizable and muscular. He was around twenty years old. Because Theresia almost always referred to him as “honey,” it had taken Allen quite a while to learn his name.
Theresia handed Rodin two steamed potatoes, at which a quizzical look came over his face. He asked, “You already ate?”
“Huh?” returned Theresia, otherwise at a loss for words. Seeing this, Rodin gave one of the potatoes back to his wife, completing this exchange that had been repeated multiple times during the previous six months.
“Come on, you know you shouldn’t do that. If you don’t eat properly, you can’t produce enough milk. The tax reduction on the village lasts until next year, so we’ve got to let Allen grow as big as possible until then.”
“Thank you, honey.”
What is this village’s name though?
Apparently, this village was a brand-new settlement that had been set up under the orders of the lord of the fiefdom. Every once in a while, Allen’s parents would talk about new babies being born to the other families in the village, leading him to suspect that most settlers here were quite young.
And I’m this couple’s only kid so far.
In this family, there was Rodin, the father; Theresia, the mother; and Allen, the firstborn. Rodin and Theresia had come to this village partly because of the tax cut it received as a frontier village and partly to gain independence from their respective parents.
After wolfing down his potato and washing it all down with water from a jug, Rodin went back out. Before he did so, however, he made sure to plant a kiss on Theresia’s cheek as always. The two were clearly still quite in love with each other. Allen might very well be getting a younger sibling soon.
Living as a serf isn’t easy, but it looks like it’s still a pretty good life.
As Allen was the one who had chosen to be a serf himself in his previous world, he was not dissatisfied with his current situation. He had a pretty mom and a dad who loved his family. But if he really had to put his finger on the one thing that was bothering him...
Status: Open, he chanted inside his mind, raising a chubby hand into the air. However, nothing happened, leaving him no choice but to put his hand back down.
Did I really become a Summoner? Maybe I’m too young to Summon anything? I can’t even check my own Status. Now this is true Hell Mode. I’ve got nothing to do.
Allen was a six-month-old infant, nothing more, nothing less. Although he had selected Summoner as his class before his reincarnation, there had been zero hints of anything relevant to this ability as of yet.
Light novels that start off like what I’m experiencing normally depict the protagonist circulating mana within his body since infancy and obtaining massive MP capacity. The problem is, I can’t feel anything remotely like that inside myself.
Drowsiness eventually overtook him before an answer came. His body was still that of a baby, so he would cry when hungry, he would pee and poo himself, and he would still conk out when sleepy.
＊ ＊ ＊
Another six months passed, and Allen turned one. Fall had just arrived, which meant he himself had been born in the fall. The spread at dinner that night was more extravagant than usual. As he was in the middle of being weaned, his diet now largely consisted of simmered beans or steamed potatoes mashed into a paste with a wooden pestle.
“It’s such a feast tonight! Good job hunting that great boar, honey.”
“I did it all for Allen!”
“Dankyu, papa, mama.”
As Allen’s family were serfs, farming was their main job. In the field next to their house, they grew potatoes, wheat, and other crops. This was information that Allen had gleaned solely through the conversation between his parents as he was almost always in Theresia’s arms and had never been brought out beyond the garden.
When fall came and all the harvesting was over, the men of the village would gather to hunt in the nearby forest. This was something that the strapping Rodin really enjoyed—so much so that he had remarked many times that, had he been born a commoner instead of a serf, he would have chosen to be a hunter. Anyone who participated in the hunt would get to take home a portion of the meat, so he gave it his all whenever he joined in.
There’s almost no seasoning in this whatsoever.
Although his food tasted only of the rudimentary flavors of its ingredients, Allen still did his best to seem like he was enjoying it for the sake of his parents who had prepared it. Besides this, there was also some mashed apple-like fruit that was actually quite tasty.
After dinner, Allen lay in bed. He thought, I guess this life isn’t all that bad. I’ll probably become a Summoner eventually. He idly lifted his hand toward the ceiling and, like he had done dozens of times before, chanted inside his mind, Status: Open.
Fwum.
To Allen’s surprise, a black book suddenly appeared before his eyes, floating in midair.
“Waaaahhhhhhh!”
“Allen?!”
Oops, I accidentally made myself cry. Calm down, me! Uh, let’s recite the prime numbers!
Perhaps due to being a one-year-old, Allen had trouble controlling his own emotions. When he burst into a wail, Theresia, who thought she had just put him to sleep, immediately rushed over in worry.
Oh no, she’s going to see this book! Go away!
“What’s wrong, Allen? Are you all right?”
Just as Allen wished for it, the book disappeared.
“Uh-huh, uh-huh.”
Phew, purposely speaking in baby talk takes effort. Well, my mouth isn’t fully developed yet, so it’s not like I can enunciate properly anyway.
The child smiled and gestured in an attempt to reassure his mother. She patted his shoulder gently as if to say, “No more surprises, all right?” before returning to the earthen floor area.
I didn’t get caught? But I should have been, timing-wise. Hold on, maybe other people can’t see the book?
There had been enough time between Theresia entering the room and the book disappearing that she would definitely have noticed it floating in midair. However, not once did she look in the book’s direction.
The fact that it might not be a problem gave Allen the confidence to call the book back out.
Fwum.
Yep, there it is. It’s a really thick book with a pitch-black hard cover. Do I get a book because I’m a Summoner?
Allen took a closer look at the tome before his eyes. His impression was that it looked like the kind of encyclopedia that would be stored at the National Diet Library back in Japan. Nothing was written on either its spine or its front cover.
Uh... Spin.
On a whim, Allen mentally ordered the book to spin. Sure enough, it began rotating. In the same way, he learned that he could bid it to fly closer. When he touched it, he found that it had the same texture as a normal book.
It feels like regular paper. What’s written inside though?
As the book was already floating in midair, Allen tried mentally willing it to turn a page.
Whoa! I finally get to see my Status!
The sight of what was written on the first page caused a wave of delight more intense than anything Allen had ever felt before to well up from deep within him.
Name: Allen
Age: 1
Class: Summoner
Level: 1
HP: 4 (40)
MP: 2 (20)
Attack: 1 (10)
Endurance: 1 (10)
Agility: 2 (25)
Intelligence: 3 (30)
Luck: 2 (25)
Skills: Summoning {1}, Creation {1}, Deletion
XP: 0/1,000
Interesting. Now, what can I make out from this?
Allen’s favorite motto was “One who is in control of their Status is in control of the game.” The key to beating games was figuring out the best way to take advantage of a character’s Status.
The parentheses next to the numerical stat values are normal, whereas the parentheses next to skill names are curly. I assume that means they imply different things. Oh, hold on. There’s something on the second page too.
Skill LevelsSummoning: 1
Creation: 1
Skill ExperienceCreation: 0/1,000
Creatable SummonsInsect: H
Beast: H
HolderInsect: H x 0
Beast: H x 0
It turned out to be more detailed information related to the Summoning skill. Allen flipped between the two pages a few times.
The skill levels on the second page match with the numbers in the curly brackets after the skill names on the first page, so I guess that’s one mystery solved. Plus all of the stat numbers seem to be a tenth of the numbers in the following parentheses—maybe they’re being suppressed due to my age?
According to Allen’s deduction, his stats were currently a mere portion of their full value. After all, it did make sense for there to be a difference between the stats of an adult and a child.
And that’s about all I can figure out from the Status page. Anything else would be going beyond hypothesizing to mere guessing.
Instead of mulling over something he had no answers to, Allen decided to first focus on what he could actually determine at the moment. His eyes fell on the second page.
So, Summoning and Creation are listed separately. And whereas Creation has a counter for XP, Summoning doesn’t. It’s probably at zero because I’ve never used it before. The fact that there’s a denominator most likely means it’d level up once I gather a thousand XP, right?
The condition for gaining XP was not specified, so there was no way to tell at a glance. However, it was common sense to a gamer that using a skill repeatedly would yield XP in said skill.
According to what’s here on the skills page, I can only Summon insects and beasts at the moment. What does the “H” mean? I’ve seen letters used to denote things like adventurer rank in otherworld series—like how a lot of protagonists end up as Rank S adventurers. If things are the same here, does that mean there are a total of nine tiers with S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H? Nah, it wouldn’t start that low, right? That kind of system would start off at E at the lowest, I imagine. I’ve never heard of a Rank H monster before.
Back in his previous world, Kenichi used to read otherworld light novels pretty much every day—sometimes during his commute, sometimes as a way to relax after an intense gaming session. As a result, he was quite familiar with the tropes used in this genre.
That’s about all I can tell for now. I’d have to actually try Summoning to learn anything else.
But before giving Summoning a try, Allen thought it a good idea to check the other pages of the book too, just in case there was more information aside from his own Status.
There are so few pages even though the book is so thick.
Whenever he attempted to flip one page, a thick section of pages would turn all at once. Belying its appearance, the book contained a limited number of available pages. What’s more, the next blank page was not normal—it had several rectangular depressions arranged in portrait orientation.
Is something supposed to go in these? There are a total of ten depressions. Very interesting.
There was no explanation—the impressions were just there. Allen’s first guess was that they were for storing some sort of cards.
Is there anything else of note? Hold on, there’s a glowing page at the very end.
The single page that was faintly shining caught Allen’s attention, prompting him to flip it open.
This is...a letter? No, it looks more like an announcement.
Dear Mr. Allen,
We hope this letter finds you well. Are you enjoying your life in this world?
We wish to take this opportunity to apologize for the delayed delivery of your grimoire. We are truly sorry for any inconveniences caused.
As the Summoner class was still in development, we had yet to finish the necessary administrative procedures. Please rest assured that we have done everything within our power to expedite the process.
Please note that we do not accept questions regarding the book nor requests for a class change. We ask for your kind understanding.
Sincerely yours,
Elmea, God of Creation
So that’s what it was. Well, I was also partly responsible for ignoring the warning message about this class still being in testing. If they’ve spent a whole year on it, I can expect it to be pretty well-developed, right?
Allen’s reaction to this message was surprisingly positive. At the same time, he felt reminded once again that this was indeed another world.
When he finished reading the letter, the words faded away from the page, leaving it blank.
Is this everything? If I haven’t overlooked anything, then I guess it’s time to give Summoning a try. Um, I can choose between insect and beast, right?
Those two were the only options currently listed under Creatable Summons on the second page of the grimoire. There was no way to tell what was going to appear. It seemed likely that these first Summons were extremely weak, but it would be a huge issue if Beast H turned out to be a wolf or a bear. With Summoner being a class ranked even higher than Demon Lord, it would not hurt to err on the side of caution.
I’m indoors right now, so I should probably go with the insect instead.
A whole year had passed since Allen had reincarnated into this world. Everything that happened during that time suddenly flashed through his mind. The memories of nursing from the boobies of his pretty mother. Memories of getting wiped down by his pretty mother. Memories of his pretty mother changing his diapers.
No, no, no, gotta get my mind out of the gutter. All right, let’s do this! Summon: Insect H!
Allen raised a hand and, in the same way he had been willing the book to move, willed the Summoning.
However, nothing happened. The nursery remained silent.
Uh...did anything happen? Is it on the ground, maybe?
The absence of any noticeable change prompted Allen to get up and look all over. He squinted his eyes and peered around the dimly lit room, but ultimately could not find anything resembling an insect.
Was that maybe the wrong chant? Insect, I choose you!
Nothing stirred.
Suspecting that merely thinking it was insufficient, Allen chanted “Arise, insect!” aloud, trying his best not to lisp. However, it was to no avail.
Well, this is a problem. What should I do?
After thinking about it for a while, Allen decided to give his grimoire another once-over. Back in his previous world, almost every game had detailed walkthrough sites explaining everything. Some even had forums where players could ask and answer each other’s questions. There was never an instance where he would be at a complete loss. In contrast, this world had no such resources, leaving him to do all the thinking and experimenting by himself.
Oh, maybe I need to Create a Summon before being able to call it out?
Summoning, Creation, and Deletion had all been listed under the Skills category on the first page. As such, Allen decided to give Creation a try.
Create: Insect!
“Wha—?!”
This time, it was the grimoire’s cover that began glowing, not a page. The previously dark room was suddenly illuminated, giving Allen a bit of a surprise.
Hold on, there are words here!
On the front cover of the grimoire was a single line written in silver letters.
<Which rank of an Insect Card do you wish to Create?>
If it’s asking me to specify the rank, it must mean “H” is a rank after all. Create: Insect H!
Immediately, a card appeared before Allen’s eyes.
There we go! A card! It’s got an illustration of an insect on it! This is a grasshopper, right?
<One Insect H Card has been Created.>
The card was roughly a quarter the size of the book cover. It was decorated with a beautiful picture of a grasshopper and had the words “Insect H” at the top left corner. The MP field in Allen’s Status had changed from “2” to “0,” indicating that MP had been expended in the process.
But a grasshopper? It doesn’t look strong at all. And to be honest, when I think “summoning,” “bug” is hardly the first thing that comes to mind.
Allen had spent the last year dreaming of summoning great serpents from Greek mythology and heroic spirits from the past. Reality, however, gave him a single card depicting a mere grasshopper. What’s more, making that one card had cost him all the MP he had.
Well, there’s no point in lamenting over it. Turns out the impressions in the grimoire are slots for these cards. So I’m supposed to start collecting them from now on?
Getting this card seemed to have answered quite a lot of questions for Allen and gave him a general idea of how his class worked.
Let’s continue tomorrow. The night’s completely dark now and I can’t see anything anyway.
The room, which had been quite dim before, was now entirely shrouded in darkness. Allen had no light to see by, which meant there was no choice but to obediently turn in for the night.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Good morning, Allen,” Theresia said as she threw the wooden shutters wide open, flooding the room with light.
“Goo’monin, mama.”
The sun had already climbed quite a distance by now.
Looks like a day in this world is also around twenty-four hours. It’s about 8 a.m. right now, I’d say?
Just like Allen himself, both his parents had been serfs from birth. Because they had no proper education, Allen had trouble learning standards or units of measurement from them. It was difficult for him to broach the subject without raising suspicion, being a one-year-old and all, but his parents never seemed to ever bring it up in conversation. He had finally learned about time recently, but was still completely in the dark regarding currency, weight, and distance.
Clearly I’m not going to be able to enjoy the cliché of being reincarnated into a house with a study full of books to read so I can get a head start on education.
A serf’s morning started early. As for how early...Allen had yet to ever see his father when he awoke in the morning, leading him to infer that his father probably left the house around 6 a.m. There was now talk of Theresia returning to join Rodin in the fields while Allen was asleep as he had grown a bit older.
With how small our house is, I can’t really attempt Summoning when my mother’s home. She comes in to check on me every once in a while when I’m awake too. Guess it’ll have to wait till it’s time for my afternoon nap.
Allen had not told his parents about being reincarnated from another world, nor about being a Summoner. He was still speaking with a baby’s lisp. He did not have any particular intention of telling them going forward either, as he feared they would believe he was possessed by a spirit or demon.
He spun his grimoire, waiting for time to pass. When all the clattering around from housework settled down, Theresia came in to let Allen breastfeed. He had been rather embarrassed in the beginning, but had gotten largely used to it by now. It was as if he was a sage or a hermit with how completely devoid of sexual urge he was.
“Sleep tight, Allen.”
“Goo’nai, mama.”
Here we go! Afternoon nap time!
Theresia carried Allen to the child’s room and tucked him into his wooden cot. She closed the wooden windows, leaving him alone in the now dimly lit room.
All right, she’s gone. Heh heh heh, let’s continue where I left off yesterday.
He brought out his grimoire and retrieved the Insect H Card from its holder.
For starters, let’s see if I can Summon without saying it out loud. Summon: Insect H!
Allen spread both his arms wide and did his best to generate the feeling of Summoning something. In response, the card shone bright and crumbled away. In exchange, a grasshopper appeared.
“Ohhhh! Gwassoppaw!” Allen blurted inadvertently. His eyes were glued to the creature that had fallen to the ground outside the wooden slats surrounding his cot.
Hmm, it’s not all that big. Around fifteen centimeters long, I’d say? Well, it is a bit bigger than normal, but otherwise looks like a common grasshopper.
The insect was just hopping around the room aimlessly. It showed no intention of meeting Allen’s eyes.
It’s my Summon, so it should at least listen to me, right? Come here. Coooome on.
For a split second, Allen’s and the grasshopper’s eyes finally met.
Hoh, you finally noticed me? Be not reserved. You may approach.
The baby flapped his hands in an effort to attract the creature’s attention. However, it promptly turned away and reverted to its aimless hopping.
Okay, this isn’t working. It’s seriously just a grasshopper. It’s got no intelligence and doesn’t understand orders. And the grimoire isn’t telling me anyth— Hold on, there’s a new page.
Just as Allen thought to check his book for any additions after having successfully performed his first-ever Summoning, he noticed a third page that had not been there before.
I see, I get new information in the form of new pages in the grimoire. And this is the Status of this grasshopper.
The following was written on the grimoire’s brand-new page:
Type: Insect
Rank: H
Name: None (Please set a name.)
HP: 3
MP: 0
Attack: 2
Endurance: 5
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 1
Luck: 2
Buffs: Endurance 1, Agility 1
Ability: Hop
It’s pretty weak but still generally about on par with me. Whoa, it has even higher Attack than I do. What is this “Buffs” field? Could it be that these are buffs for me? Wha—?! My own stats have gone up!
“Amajing!”
Compared to yesterday, Allen’s stats had now gone up by one in both Endurance and Agility. The pleasant surprise caused Allen to unthinkingly whoop out loud and clench his fists.
“Goodness, Allen. You gotta go beddy-bye properly, all right?” Theresia chided while coming back inside, having heard the shout from the garden right outside where she had been working.
Shoot! If she comes in right now, she’ll see the gra—
“Sowwie, mama.”
“Oh, it’s all right, sweetie,” Theresia cooed before she suddenly made eye contact with the Summon.
“NOOOOO, IT’S A BUUUUGGGG!” she screamed as she brought her foot down.
OH-NO, MY SUMMON GOT STOMPED! It... It’s gone...
The grasshopper disappeared in bubbles of light. Theresia, who thought she had let the insect escape, went off searching for it. Allen could not let his surprise show on his face, so he went to sleep instead, pretending like nothing had happened.
In this way, Allen took his very first step as a Summoner in this world.