Reincarnation of a Hunter

 

People from the slums of the Holy Town.

 

They came to Marseille from the inland provinces of the French kingdom.

 

Most of them have come south to escape the harsh conditions of servitude, taxation, and enslavement.

 

Everyone came to Marseille because they heard it was a nice place to live.

 

They came with the hope that since there was a port by the sea, they could find work.

 

However, Marseille could have been a better estate.

 

There was not enough money to feed the people, and thieves from hunger lured them.

 

That’s why hordes of refugees and bandits overran Marseille.

  

Martin, Knight Commander Axel, and several soldiers left the castle.

 

Then they headed to the slums of the Holy Town.

 

With the arrival of so many refugees, the slums had expanded greatly.

 “The goal is to resettle those people in frontier villages.” 

Martin responded,

“I heard there is no way to increase farmland anymore. The boreal forests around here are the domain of orcs and goblins.” “It must be done, even if it’s hard.” 

Where I pointed my finger, there was a small group of people sitting together.

 

They are basking in the sun with no motivation. They are hungry and have no energy to run around.

 

Martin, a good man, looked at the children with sadness.

 “Hunger breeds thieves. Our primary goal is to settle the refugees in the villages, and at the same time, destroy the bandits.” 

Martin closed his fists as if to calm himself.

 

We spurred on our way to the frontier villages near the boreal forest to check the situation first.

  

The sudden appearance of the horses, which were not usually seen, startled the settlers. They rushed out, weapons drawn.

 

They seemed to think we were a band of thieves.

 

Likewise, they were wary until they saw the face of the Knight Commander of Axel.

 “Oh, Axel. It’s been a decade. What brings you here?” “Haha, I’m here to introduce my new lord.” 

I got off my horse and stepped forward.

 “I am Eric of Marseille. Are you the chief of this village?” “Yes, my lord. I am the chief of this village, Comansville.” “What does Comansville mean?” “It’s the town of beginnings.” 

The name reminds me of an RPG tutorial.

 “Sounds like a place where you’ll find horned rabbits and wolves in your backyard.” “How do you know?” 

Was it real?

 “…just.” “Not only that, there is also a large clan of goblins in the great forest that lives nearby.” 

I wondered how they knew that, sitting in the village without even going deep into the forest. Maybe it’s magic.

 “How do you know if it’s a group or not?” “Some goblins have learned to speak human. Sometimes they come to the lumberyard and talk so loudly. My ears bleed from all their talking.” 

Tsk, I was hoping for some sort of magic, how disappointing.

 “It must be an unusual entity with high intelligence.” “Yeah. And they’re so fast we can’t even catch them.” 

Talking to the chief, I looked around Comansville.

 

It’s a typical farming community, quite large for a frontier town, with most of the adult population engaged in agriculture.

 

The townspeople seemed cheerful. Their health status didn’t look too bad.

 

Especially the children.

 

They were smiling, running around, and looking healthy, not like the shriveled-up children in the slums.

 

To me, this meant that the village had hope and a future.

 

The villagers had easy access to fresh water thanks to several clean wells, they kept their backyards tidy with drainage gutters.

 

In addition, the village had a separate garbage disposal system, and the entire village was organized and clean. 

 

There was also a common warehouse for farmers to safely store their crops and tools, and a well-equipped communal workshop for textiles and crafts allowed work to proceed smoothly.

 

The chief of this orderly village seemed to be very competent.

 “Are you in charge of the village’s management?” “My sons and I are doing it together.” “It’s great. I’ve never seen a town so well maintained.” 

The village chief smiled wide, obviously pleased by my compliment.

 “Thank you, my lord.” “If there’s anything you really need, ask the administration for it, and I’ll squeeze it out of the budget.” “Yes, my lord.” “And get prepared for a tour of the settlement.” 

The village chief hastily prepared for the departure and soon began leading the group.

 

We headed across large fields and into a dense forest.

 

After a while, we reached our first stop to see some open land.

 

A few villagers are chopping with axes, escorted by young men with wooden spears.

 “This is the new area we’re working on clearing, but we’re slowed down by the goblins that sometimes show up. They haven’t done any damage, but they often come and yell at us, which scares everyone in the village.” 

Fortunately, the orc tribes seemed to be far from here.

 

Orcs are cruel and vicious, eating anything they please. Even humans are considered prey.

 

Goblins are much better to deal with, though.

 “Why are the goblins terrorizing you all the way here?” “They think humans are interfering with their hunting and gathering.” “Interfere you say, then we’ll have to interfere very violently.” 

Reaching for one of the giant trees, I grabbed a handful.

 “Golem form.” Thud, thud, thud—! 

The tree’s trunk began to split and break.

 

And like a living tree, the branches became arms, the roots became legs, and a great wood golem was formed.

 

‘What’s this, why is it so big?’

 

The maximum size of a golem that could be created with [Lesser Golem Formation] was about 2.5 meters for a Stone Golem and 5 meters for a Wood Golem.

 

However, the Wood Golem I’ve created now seems to be over 10 meters tall.

 

Perhaps it had been transformed into a [Useful Lesser Golem] with the blessing of the God of Prosperity.

 

Of course, it was still a golem that couldn’t produce mana.

 

From the looks of it, its combat power was roughly that of an E-ranked Hunter, or a Sword User at the lowest level.

 

Meanwhile, the reactions of those who saw the golem were vehement.

 “It’s a monster…” “Ha! The Lord has created a monster!” “Alas, my god. Thou hast taken my life today.” 

Not only were the boisterous villagers stunned, but so were my entourage.

 

Martin, who had seen the wizard often in Westphalia, remained silent, but the Knight Commander Axel’s reaction was overwhelming.

 “This is my lord’s power, granted by the God of Prosperity? My goodness… a hundred of these creatures would be enough to build a kingdom!” 

To which I smirked and replied,

“I can only make two, and they’re big, but weaker than a knight.” “That’s a shame about the numbers, but it’s still quite an ability.” “It’s great because it’s so easy to unleash.” 

The magic in this world needs preparation.

 

Mana stone powder or mana stone slate are required to draw large magic circles, and mana stone slate needs to be used as a medium to cast magic.

 

Hunter’s abilities, on the other hand, are instantaneous. 

 

‘All it requires is mana.’

 

This leads me to believe that the Hunter system would be useful for running this estate.

 

Because it’s a very simple ability.

 

Anyway, I gave instructions to the finished wood golem.

 “Golem, I want you to gather all the trees from here and gather them together. If any goblins show up, kill them.” Thud, thud, thud— 

Upon hearing the command, Wood Golems grabbed a tree.

 

Wrapping its arms around the tree, the Wood Golem uses its strength.

 Crunch— 

There was a sound of something crunching in the tree, and then I started to hear its roots.

 Crack, creak, clack— 

When the tree was completely uprooted with a steady stream of crunching roots, the golem set it aside.

 “Waah!” 

The frightened and silent settlers erupted in cheers.

 

The speed of the clearing was quick, and the uprooting was easy.

 

Of course, burning the roots after covering the area with a fire pit would remove them, but the soil here was moist, and even that seemed difficult.

 “Golem Form.” 

I made another wood golem and put it to work.

 

Whenever they encountered a majestic tree, the two golems would stick together and dismantle it. With two wood golems working, the cutting speed was incredibly fast.

 

If they were to be given the task of selecting the land for the clearing, a village would be built in no time.

 

‘As expected, golems are the best for hard work.’

 

Looking proud at the golems, I called the village chief again and explained the relocation plan.

 “We will use this Comansville as a base to relocate the people. Envision a net of new settlement villages as we move inward.” “My, what do you mean?” 

The village chief looks puzzled. He’s overwhelmed by the enormity of the responsibility he’s suddenly been given.

 

But it wasn’t like I was going to give him a job without compensation.

 “Yes. And I will appoint the chiefs of the new villages, but I will choose from your recommendations.” 

It gave the chiefs power over the new villages.

 

Directly under the Lord.

 “I am honored. My lord.” “If you build many pioneer villages, I will give you a family name, so work hard.” 

‘I’ll make you a quasi-noble.’

 

 The chief’s mouth fell open.

 

I planned to bait him with power and honor to speed up the clearing.

 

And the villagers will be rewarded with more farmland.

 “I’ll leave the golem here for now and let them work.” 

After instructing the golem to listen to the village chief’s orders, I got back on my horse.

 

Things are busy. There was still so much to do.

  

At the entrance to the slums of Holy Town, an official posted a notice and shouted,

“We are recruiting families to settle in the new village! Applicants should see the notice and come to the administration!” 

The official hired several scribes to read the notice for him, then left the slum.

 

Soon the people flocked to the notice.

 “Hey, I can’t understand it, please read it for us.” 

The scribes began to read the notice.

 “We are looking for applicants to settle in a newly built community. The recruitment process is as follows. First, those who are registered as permanent residents… Those who meet the above criteria should apply at the administration.” 

The people began to talk among themselves.

 “Sounds like a good opportunity, what do you think?” “We’re stuck in one place, it’s embarrassing to face our families anymore.” 

Most refugees wanted to take this opportunity to settle down.

 

They had been traveling for months at a time and years on end.

 

But as the famous saying goes,

‘In a group of five human beings, there is always one garbage,’

and some refugees were eager for a chance to stay alive.

 “I’ll apply no matter what. They’ll give me food and farm equipment, then I’ll sell them all.” “Hey, didn’t you hear? They’ll slit your throat if you try anything.” “I’m going to join the bandits. I’ll bet my whole fortune and everything I own that they don’t catch me.” 

There were many such people.

 

There were a lot of people who ran away, only to return to the slums again.

 

And in the midst of all this, a man quietly left.

  

A moment later.

 

Pascal, the head of civil affairs, came into my office.

 “My Lord, I’ve been looking at the public opinion of the people.” “Good work, you’re not hurt, are you?” “I was fine because you warned me ahead of time,”

said Pascal.

 

There would be a lot of people wanting to get a bite out, and I had warned him not to be alarmed.

 

Pascal was an intelligent man, but all his studies had left him ignorant of the lives of the lower classes.

 

This was his chance to see, hear, and experience it for himself.

 “Remember, poverty turns good men into bandits. That’s why we must do our best to manage our estates.” “Yes, my lord.” 

Just then, Raul, Martin, and the Knight Commander, Axel, entered.

 “Good timing. Let’s find a way to get rid of the bandits. As long as they’re around, the people will be easily tempted.” 

We put our heads together. We shared the locations where we believed the bandits were based, and began to plan our attack and how to take them out.

 

First, Axel reported the results of his meetings with the knights.

 “According to their testimony, if we take soldiers, they will scatter and flee. We need to find a stealthy way to approach them,”

said Axel.

 “If we come on horses, the ground will rumble and they’ll know. We must travel on foot.” “They’re familiar with the terrain, so even if we travel on foot in a group, we’ll be spotted quickly.” 

While Axel and I were struggling, Martin made a suggestion.

 “Let’s hire a wizard.”