The Man Picked up by the Gods

Volume 1 - 17

The Man Picked Up by the Gods - Volume 1 Chapter 17

~Side Ryouma~

When I opened my eyes the sun was already high.

Ah~...... I slept well. It’s been a while since I last worked that hard..... Hmm... the sun’s already high......

.....................The sun is high? ............ Not good!

“Good morning, Ryouma-sama.”

“Sebasu-san, what’s the time right now?”

“It’s already almost lunch. As expected Ryouma-sama must have been really tired. It’s good that Ryouma-sama seemed to have had a good night’s rest, will you be having your meal now?”

“Thank you but I have to go to the guild now so I’ll have it when I come back.”

“Alright.”

I quickly get myself readied and head towards the guild. This is bad, there’s no more time. I guess I’ll have to do it.

I put up a Barrier of Concealment around me and, wrapping my magic around me to strengthen my body, I activate the neutral magic, Body Strengthening.

Using my strengthened body, I run up to the roof of the nearest building, and ran on top of the roof. I then activate the short distance movement space magic, teleport, and then run straight for the guild. Like this, I somehow managed to make it by noon.

“Excuse me”

Everyone was already gathered when I got to the room.

“You came, Ryouma. With this, everyone’s gathered.”

“Sorry for making you wait”

“You managed to make it just in time, so don’t mind it. Then, let’s get started. Your payment for this job!

I got 3 medium silver coins from the previous latrine pit job I took. The one I got today was 30 small gold coins. As for the others, they all got 10 small gold coins each.

“Hey, hey, old man, aren’t you being unusually generous?”

“Seriously. You gave it, so we’ll accept it but you do know that all we did was look out, right?”Asked Jeff-san and Wereanna-san because of the unusually high amount. Even the veteran dwarf adventurer, Gordon, asked

“Isn’t the pay too high? Even if you say that we were near a place from where an infectious disease might spread, it’s not like we actually did anything directly. Just half of this would be fine, no?’

The guild master just shook his head though, and said

“Nah, that amount is undoubtedly correct. The reason for that is...... Ryouma”

“Yes?”

“You said it, right? That the name of the infectious disease in the latrine pit was the Idake Disease, right?”

“Yes, I had confirmed it with, Identify, therefore it is definitely correct.

“Apparently that disease is quite problematic. You see, I asked some trashy old hag I know about the details regarding that, and as it turns out it has a pretty low death rate. Only, it spreads fast, and it leaves its survivors unable to move their limbs. But since, being unable to move also means being unable to work, in the end it’s pretty much the same as dying.

And so, the reward for this time’s job is because of that. Although it doesn’t have a high death rate, the old ones and kids have a high chance of dying and as for those that do survive, including adults, they’ll all end up unable to work. So I’m paying you that much after taking that into consideration.”

When the guild master finished explaining, everyone broke out into a cold sweat.

Looks like it was really dangerous...... Although it’s also because of the after effects, but not being able to work is just too much of a hit since you won’t be able to make a living. In a world without insurance or a country that will offer relief for its citizens, it’s a lethal strike. In the end, if one were to catch that disease, it could lead to only one conclusion, starvation.

“It’s good that we were able to stop it ahead of time, nya......”

“In a sense you could say that it’s scarier than a disease with a high death rate”

“If you catch it and die, you pass on. But if you manage to survive, then in its own way, you get to enter hell.”

As the direction of the conversation moved, the Guild Master mentioned this

“This time the public office seemed to have taken quite a scolding. As for what’s going to happen to the janitorial position of the latrine pits... right now, it’s quite a mess”

Wereanna-san gave him a questioning look and asked

“You mean, they’re not giving it back to the people of the slum?”

“Unfortunately, that’s impossible. Even if you tell them that the top executive responsible for giving out low wages has been fired and that you’ll be paying the former amount, it doesn’t really seem like they’re willing to believe it. And also, apparently, they were given a new job, and also from their point of view...

Other towns aside, since this town here is near a mine. There are a lot of jobs here that people don’t like to do, physical labor, dirty labor... those kinds of stuff. But because there those kind of jobs are numerous, the people of the slum are able to find new work. So it’s not like there’s any particular reason to make a fuss over the job of cleaning the latrine pits...

And first of all, the one at fault was the public office. They also can’t tell them to stop their job and come work for them again so from the looks of things they just gave up on trying to employ the slum”

“Then, what’s going to happen? This time we got lucky that Ryouma noticed it but it will be bad if this happens again.”

“That’s right, putting it bluntly, it’s because we’d be paid that the guild was able to push it on to us. But from now here on out, the guild we’ll probably have to force the people that have a lot of failed missions or those that broken the rules to take on the job.”

“That kind of thing, just leave it to them, they’ll figure something out.”

“Don’t say it so casually...”

“Please do calm down, I’ll also take requests while I’m in the town, so please think of something during that time.”

“Thanks.”

“Nya? Does Ryouma live in a different town somewhere?”

“Acutally, I don’t live in a town but in a forest.”

“Forest?”

“Do you know the forest of Gana? From here it will take around 1 week to get there...”

“If I’m correct it’s the one close to the town of Gaunago, right?”

“That’s right. I live deep inside that forest.”

“In the forest? Why in a place like that?”

“It’s because I’m an orphan. Unfortunately, though, my grandparents that picked me up passed away, and the village we lived in was particularly cruel to outsiders, so in the end I had no choice but to leave the village. Fortunately, my grandparents were adventurers and had given me the knowledge and skill I would need to survive. Thanks to that, I was able to live by myself in the forest. I did live in the forest for 3 years, so I wonder if it’s because of that, that I’m starting to find it more comfortable to live in the forest rather than in a place with people.”

“3 years!?’

“Wait a moment. Ryouma-kun, how old are you?”

“11 years old.”

“So you’ve been living by yourself in the forest since you were 8 years old?”

“You’re crazy...”

“Then, how come you’re in a village like this?”

“Well I had been wondering if it was really ok to continue that lifestyle since my grandparents did tell me to go to a different village. At some point though, I ended up meeting some people who were going here, and so I decided to go with them to see what a town inhabited by people is like”

“Are you going back?”

“Well, I am worried and I also have some attachment to that house I made that I lived in for 3 years. Alternatively, I might also be able to find a place to live in deep in the forest around here.”

“Um, how about no? Go live in the town. Why do you have to go all the way to the forest to live?”

“Well the house is made by magic, and food is dealt with, by simply hunting, like this it’s quite the carefree lifestyle, you know? Oh, money also isn’t needed.”

“Ryouma, this one thinks that you being a hermit at that age is too early.”

“That’s true...... I can vaguely feel it.”

“Well just think hard enough about it to have no regrets. I’d be grateful if you stayed here, but it’s better if you choose to live here without being burdened. Just go live the way you want.

For the mean time the properties of the people who were embezzling money were confiscated, and the people who worked with them had their salaries cut. All those funds retrieved will be used as finances for the town so for the mean time there will be money. So at the very least the town will have money to hire people to handle things.

......Anyway with this I’ve given you guys what I needed to give you. And also, there’s one last thing I need to let you guys know. A few days from now, a request will be posted regarding the subjugation of the monsters taking nest inside the mine. Practically speaking, that mine has been abandoned years ago but it’s only this year that it will be officially declared as abandoned. There are several kinds of magical beasts taking nest inside that mine. Their mostly just a bunch of small beasts but the scope is wide so they want to hire adventurers for the job. Take those jobs and kick their asses. Dismissed!”

Like that we were dismissed and we each went our own ways. I went back to the lodging where Elia and the rest were waiting for me. From the looks of things, they wanted us to eat lunch together and so they had waited for me. I give my thanks, take my seat, and have lunch with them. At which point Elia said this

“Ryouma-san, let’s have special training!”

“What’s the matter all of the sudden?”

... I feel like we’d also had a similar conversation in the past...

“I’ll be having special training from today onwards so I wanted to know if Ryouma-san might want to join too.”

“The truth is, this trip is not only just a trip, but also for the sake of serving as Elia’s battle practice.”

“My household does not discriminate between men and women and makes its members go on a journey for the sake of practicing magic and slave magic. Depending on how good one is, they can also become an adventurer.”

“Going on a trip, widening one’s knowledge and getting a better outlook on life is good for the family. But in order to do something like that, it’s necessary to have the strength to do so. We could just assign some escorts for our heirs as well, but then it will be uncomfortable for them, and also since they won’t be putting any effort, the results will be half-baked. So with that in mind, Elia will be fighting personally in order to gain the power to protect herself in the future.”

“From this year on, I will be going to school to learn magic and academics. So before that, I wanted to gather some experience.”

“I see, so that’s why you came here.”

“That’s right. Since this morning until just a while ago I’ve been practicing and this afternoon as well I’ll be practicing again. So how about it? Won’t Ryouma-san join the training as well?”

This is a good opportunity

“If I won’t be in the way, then please allow me to participate.”

Like that I ended up joining the afternoon training.

We went out the city on carriage and after 20 minutes arrived to a rocky place, where Jill-san and the rest were waiting for us. It seems that our training for today is about magic.

“Ryouma, so you came too. The three days must have been tough, huh?”

“Jill-san as well, I heard you’ve been busy too.”

“Well in its own way.”

“Come on, no more talking, and let’s go practice!”

Said, the excited Ojousama.

“By the way, which attribute will we be training today?”

“Fire and ice is my specialty. Since I have plenty of magic power, if I practice a lot, I’ll able to use a lot of powerful magic”

Lots of powerful magic, huh? Just what you’d expect from someone that specializes in fire.

“Ryouma-sama, just as I’ve mentioned before, it would be good for Ryouma-sama to learn several attack magic of differing attributes. The Ojousama has been training controlling her magic power since this morning.”

After that, our teachers became Sebasu-san for Elia, and Camil-san for me.

“Well then, shall we start?”

“Yes, please take care of me.”

“Here too. It’s just something I heard but, Ryouma has all attribute aptitude, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. However, I’ve only trained the basic attack magic and the magic I can use in my day-to-day life.”

“Ok. Then can you show me the attack magic that you can use?”

“Alright.”

Saying that, I used the basic magic of fire, water, wind, earth, electricity, ice, and poison on the nearby rock. Specifically, the name of the magic are, Fire Ball, Water Ball, Wind Cutter, Earth Needle, Stun, Ice Shot, and Poison.

“Nice, even if it’s just basic magic, that was still pretty good. If you can do this much then you can probably easily learn the next magic. First off, I’ll show you the new magic one by one. After seeing it, I want you to try it yourself.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best.”

“Then let’s go. First off, is the fire magic, ‘Fire Arrow’ “

The moment Camil-san chanted the magic, fire lit up from his hand, quickly forming into an arrow and flying straight into the rock.

“This is the lesser offensive fire magic, Fire Arrow. It’s faster than Fire Ball and has the power to penetrate through its target. This is the most common, and easiest to use fire magic. Try it yourself.”

“Ok.”

Remembering Camil-san’s fire arrow, I try to recreate it. Just like Fire Ball, I create a ball of fire in my hands, but this time, I compress it and gather it together, and in my mind I imagine an arrow being shot. Then I chant it.

“Fire Arrow”

As I said those words, a Fire Arrow just like Camil-san’s appears, and flies straight into the rock.

“Good, you succeeded. To get it on the first try, your comprehension is good.”

Oh? Will I be suspected at a time like this, like they would in a generic light novel? Should I try to trick him a bit?

“It’s because I use the bow. So it was quite easy to create the image.”

“I see. Right, there was also that.”

“Also?”

“Yeah, from time to time there are people who aren’t magicians but use magic in their day to day lives. And even, without learning offensive magic, they manage to raise the level of their magic.

That kind of person, is the type that can quickly learn the magic as long as he creates the image. Depending on the person he or she will usually be able to get it at the second or third try”

Oh, it doesn’t look like the learning speed is that different from the ones in the light novels... that’s good.

After that I also learned the offensive magic, Water Shot, Wind Hammer, Rock bullet, Stun Arrow, and Ice Arrow.

As well as the defensive magic, Fire Wall, Water Wall, Wind Shield, and Ice Shield.

Also it would seem that Camil-san can only use all the low class attributes plus the electric and ice attribute. Because of that he wasn’t able to teach me poison, tree and the high class attribute skills.

“Well I’ve taught you everything so...... shall we go to the middle class and increase the training speed...... yeah............”

Looks like my learning speed is fast but not abnormal, because of that though, it would appear he’s run out of teaching material. Seeing Camil-san troubled, Sebasu-san came.

“Is there a problem?”

“Sebasu-san.”

“Ryouma-kun’s comprehension is really good. I ended up already teaching him everything I can teach.”

“I see, it was something like that. Then, in that case, I will teach him space magic from here on.”

Brilliant! A space magician who is distinguished even in the country is going to teach me! Lucky!

“Well then, I’ll be going. Do your best, Ryouma-kun.”

“Thank you very much, Camil-san. Please take care of me, Sebasu-san.”

“Then let’s start. First off, does Ryouma-sama have any other space magic other than Item Box?”

“I can use Teleport”

“If it would be fine with Ryouma-sama, could Ryouma-sama please show me?”

“Yes, of course. Then, ‘Teleport’! “

~ Side Sebasu~

Ryouma-sama invocated teleport and appeared beside the nearby rock. From there, he used Teleport 4 more times consecutively, and then came back right in front of me. Excellent. It looks like he understands the magic well.

“That was excellently done, Ryouma-sama. Not only is the speed of invocation fast, but Ryouma-sama was even able to use it consecutively. With this, there should be no problem to use even the middle class magic, Dimension Home, as well as the mid-distance movement magic, Warp.”

“Really!?”

“Yes, it’s true. Is Ryouma-sama aware of the reason as to why the high class attribute, space magic, is hard to use?”

“I don’t know”

“Then in that case, how does space magic work?”

“Well first, one interferes with the dimension using magic power and then distorts it. I believe this to be the basic of the magic.”

“Precisely. However, it is that basic, the foundation, which is the act of interfering with the dimension using magic power that many people find themselves stumbling. The thing called dimension or space is always there. However, the number of people that can truly be aware of it is rare.

Amongst the books that talk about space magic there are many that exaggerate and say things like, “space magic encompasses everything in the world” leading to many people failing to grasp a strong image of it. Because of this, the interference ends up as incomplete.

The truly important part regarding space magic is how one would be able to grasp the space that one is in right now. However, this is not something that you can explain in words. An understanding that comes from words, will only be incomplete. The only way for one to grasp this understanding, is to practice, and understand the feeling. And unless one is able to properly do that, one will not be able to use mid-level space magic up.

Ryouma-sama might find himself quite shocked if I were to say this, but, in truth, low level space magic is the same as mid-level magic.”

“!?”

Fufu... as expected he’s quite shocked.

“In the past space magic didn’t have the low level magic that we have today. One theory says that there used to be no distinction between low level and mid-level. The reason for that is that whether one is able to properly grasp space magic or not, is the only time one can be considered to have taken their first step in space magic. If one is unable to properly grasp that, then the space will only either end in failure or be incomplete. But as time went the number of people that could use space magic decreased and the quality of the space magicians as a whole fell. Because of this, what was once considered to be low level magic has become the mid-level magic, today, and what was considered as a failure is now a low level magic.”

“So I can use the same image I use for Item Box and Teleport for Dimension Home and Warp?”

“That’s correct, however in the case of Dimension Home there are still things that need to be supplemented but in the case of Warp, that’s exactly correct. Just one thing though, since the distance Warp can travel is far greater than Teleport, as long as one is able to properly grasp the destination, then one will be able to go no matter how far. For starters, how about that rock’s summit?”

I point my finger at the farthest rock that I can see. The rock is quite big as well but more than that, it’s perfect because its summit is flat, so it can serve as a foothold.

“I understand, please let me try it”

Ryouma-sama looks like he’s up to challenge. This kind of attitude is the kind that’s worth teaching.

I wonder how many people have I taught magic like this?............Having been born in the Household of Jamil as someone who possessed talent for Space Magic. While serving the household I did nothing but study and train both as a butler and as a magician.

My magic was quite useful during the days I travelled with the previous head. And when our journey ended, I supported the previous head every day...... I think it was around this time when people started calling me a distinguished space magician within the country.

Before I knew it, the magic that I had been studying, training, and using since I was a child, had become a topic all over the country. The cause was apparently when I used Dimension Home to store a great number of things in order to help the previous head.

After that, a lot of people came asking to become my disciple. They would bring letters with them petition for them to be taken as my disciple, but I rejected all of them. Unfortunately, amongst them, were those that would directly go to the previous head and use their connection as a shield and ask for the vassal or children to be taught.

Of course, ignoring those kind of people would be problematic so I taught them... however, there were truly far too many of them. When the number of people I taught numbered over 100, I had stopped counting, but even then, the number of people that could use mid-level magic above, could not reach even 10. The many sons of the different noble households in particular, would not listen to me when I told them that Space Magic is not something that can be taught through words, showed their displeasure and was not able to properly train.

A person like Ryouma-sama who meekly follows instructions, and earnestly pursues magic training is the kind of person that is most enjoyable to teach. If he has talent, then it’ll be even more interesting. Until now, I wonder if there has ever been a single person that I wanted to teach magic to, by my own decision. There may have been, I don’t know, at the very least I don’t remember.

While I was thinking these things, Ryouma-sama closed his eyes, and focused solely on concentrating his spirit. What a brilliant child, to actually be able to concentrate to this extent... however, it does beg the question, what kind of training did he undergo to become like this?

Now that I think about it, when I met Ryouma-sama for the first time, he was quite the twisted boy. When I first heard about him, I found out that he was a strange boy who was living in the forest without his parents. When I had finally met him in person, I noticed his appearance to be quite neat, considering the time he had spent isolated in the forest. When he first spoke, it was a manner of speech so polite that he would pass even as a noble. And when he had invited us inside, what he brought out for us was the highest class of black tea coupled with the luxurious honey.

His house was like that of a noble’s. It was sturdy, comfortable, and even had its own bath. Appearance aside, if only comfort were to be taken into consideration, then it could definitely be lined up alongside the houses of those nobles.

But more than anything, what was unusual was the knowledge and techniques he possessed. He researched slimes, which no one had been researching, and with the Cleaner Slime and the Scavenger Slime he was able to make his life more comfortable. He even managed to create water proof cloths and thread of a quality that was never before seen.

On the way to Gimuru, he mentioned that he was able to extract the poison from the rock salt that could be taken from the mountain. When Rheinhart-sama showed his interest in it as a product, he said, “The amount is insufficient, if we were to bring that into the market, we’d lose out to the others that can produce more.” That moment, he showed a knowledge that only someone who was raised as a noble or as the son of merchant would have.

And even now, I can still see it, the empty eyes he showed when we got to the town, and the ability he showed when he protected the Ojousama from the ruffians. And when we got to this town, he was able to put a stop to an epidemic that no one knew of, a young boy like that managed to achieve such a splendid achievement.

What is normally impossible for other children, this child does. This child normally shows an adult-like exterior but, recently he seemed to have started to open up his heart to us a bit, and from time to time will shows us an expression befitting his age. Ryouma-sama is....

“Sebasu-san”

Oh, I forgot myself there for a moment.

“Yes, what is it?”

“I think I can do it, let me show you.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Alright, I’m going. ‘Warp’ “

In the next moment, Ryouma-sama disappeared and then reappeared at the top of the rock I pointed at, a while ago. Seeing that, I too warped to the rock.

“Congratulations. Ryouma-sama has successfully learned the mid-level space magic, Warp”

“Yey! Thank you! Sebasu-san!”

Fufu... at times like this, he acts like his age, huh?

“Well then, next, I’ll begin the explanations for Dimension Home. At its core, it is generally the same. Ryouma-sama is to open a hole, and inside that hole spread it wide, and with Ryouma-sama’s image create a big room inside.

It’s the same up this part as with the Item Box. But, leaving the long explanation aside, in this instance, please create a scenery inside the space that is similar to the one here. The Dimension Home is different from the Item Box in that it has its own atmosphere.

And it’s because of that, that living inside or keeping animals inside is possible. If the magic fails to replicate this, then it is the low level magic, Item Box”

“Alright, I got it”

As Ryouma-sama said that, he started concentrating again. Because it’s a difficult magic, far more complex than Warp, Ryouma-sama is desperately trying to grasp the feeling of the magic.

Ryouma-sama tried to use Dimension Home but, even after several tries, all that came out was an empty hole. During that time I would let Ryouma-sama know that it’s a failure and once again, Ryouma-sam will concentrate, try again, and fail.

Repeating that, Ryouma-sama began to soak in sweat, but despite this, Ryouma-sama’s concentration wasn’t broken. And then, from time to time, while taking a break, Ryouma-sama would practice. Like this, we passed an hour, a second, a third, and finally a fourth. When the fourth hour struck, Ryouma-sama chanted as if he was whispering

“... ‘Dimension Home’ ...”

At that moment, Ryouma-sama managed to create a white hole that is connected to an empty space with Dimension Home.

“Congratulations. Ryouma-sama has also succeeded with Dimension Home”

“Yes! Thank you so much! Like this I’ll be able to put the slimes inside and carry them with me!”

“I’m happy to have been of help to Ryouma-sama. Also, if the space of this space that Ryouma-sama had created just now were to be too narrow, it is possible to increase the size of a new space at the cost of a significant amount of magic power. In such a case, please remember, that a black empty hole means a failure, and a white hole means success.”

“Understood”

“Well then, let’s return to where the Ojousama and the others are, since it’s already gotten quite dark”

“Eh......? Ah!? Time flew by quite fast, huh?”

Looks like he didn’t notice it.

“It’s because Ryouma-sama was focused. Well then, let’s go. ‘Warp’ “