The Man Picked up by the Gods – Volume 1 Chapter 22

Volume 1 Chapter 22

Elia seems to have taken her contemplations yesterday seriously and is again in the abandoned mine, training.

Because of that Rheinbach-sama told me to take care of the monster subjugation request put up by the Adventurer's Guild today. I told them it would be fine if Elia also came with me, but Rheinbach-sama and the Madam were against it.

There's a huge difference in battle experience and fighting abilities between me and Elia. So, because of that there's a very high probability that she'll only end up relying on me a lot.

Well it is true that if she were to ask me for help I wouldn't really be able to refuse…

In any case this is why I ended up going to the guild and being called into the guild master's room.

"Ryouma, you came."

"I came when I heard the Guild Master was looking for me. Is there something the matter?"

"The butler of the duke's family came a while ago. And after putting up the request I wanted to confirm something. Did you go to the abandoned mine yesterday?"

"Yes, I did."

"Right, I want you to tell me what kind of magical beasts came out. The big request I mentioned before already came, but it's really too dangerous without having a good grasp on the monsters beforehand. I also heard from the butler, but the more information the better. So I want to get whatever information I can get before starting the mission."

"The ones I fought were the cave mantis, the cave bat, and the small mouse. From the looks of things the Ojousama also seemed to have defeated a slime. And then, there's also the metal slime which the Ojousama found."

"Alright, looks like this time I can allow members from G Rank up, to take this request. But… to think there was also a metal slime."

"Yeah, that time we were moving separately but the Ojousama captured it and gave it to me as a present. Like that I was able to tame it."

"Oh yeah, you liked to collect slimes, huh? From what I've heard you actually managed to get over 1000 slimes."

"That's right. Right now, I have 728 sticky slimes, 323 poison slimes, 211 acid slimes, 11 cleaner slimes, 3033 scavenger slimes, 2 healer slimes, 1 metal slime, 1 normal slime, which in total makes 4310 slimes."

"That's too many."

"The reason the scavenger slimes ended up this many was because of the previous case, you know? Because of that I ended up making them split so many times in a short period of time and they quickly surpassed 3000. On that point, slimes are able to live largely on water alone, so it's not a problem."

"So that's why. By the way another request to clean the latrine pits came out so… mind taking that?"

"No problem. Still, that is quite fast. It hasn't even been a few days since the last one."

"Well the previous request took 5 months before it was accepted. So since there's no telling when the next request to clean will be accepted, there are plenty of guys who are thinking, "Let's start putting up the request now!" And they also threatened us by saying that if no one comes for a long time they'll complain until they die or something. In the end the public office wasn't able to come to an understanding with the slum and now they're just ignoring them and not doing their job."

"Alright, I got it. How many pits do I have to clean today?"

"All 30 pits. Can you do it?'

"Because of the previous case, the slime's ability to deal with that kind of stuff has greatly increased. And so, if I were to use it for an entire day, I think I should somehow be able to do it…"

"Then I'll leave everything to you. The townsmen are really annoying."

"Got it. Ah, can I also take the monster subjugation request?"

"Yeah, there's no limit on the number of people participating, so there won't be a problem. You can even process the documents as soon as you get home after the quest, today."

"Alright, I understand. And then, regarding the monsters in the abandoned mine, can the corpses be sold?"

"Nope. Based on the information we have now, you can't sell them. The reward for this request is simply for the subjugation of the monsters."

"Then, if I were to pay up, will I be able to get the corpses?"

"Well to begin with, those are pretty much only garbage. Even if you buy it, what will you do with it?'

"I'll feed it to my slimes of course. Even though they're not really eating that much I want to make sure I have supplies while I can."

"So that's why. Then in that case leave the handling of the corpses to the guild. I'll make it so that there'll be an extra reward for people that bring the corpses back.

To begin with, leaving the corpses there was never really a good idea since other monsters may just end up living there after scrounging for those, so I was already planning to have those gathered. Even if the bonus is dirt cheap, if there's a bonus then they'll end up wanting to do it. Also, you're the one paying for the bonus, alright?

"Of course. In the meantime, will 20 small gold coins be enough?"

"You don't need 20. Even 10 is plenty."

"Then I'll leave you with 10 small gold coins. If that becomes insufficient, I'll pay it afterwards."

"Got it. However, are you able to bring that many with you? And also, it's going to rot, you know?"

"It's alright. I can use space magic and preserve it with ice. And even if it rots, there are slimes that like that, so it won't be a waste."

"Slimes are quite convenient, huh?"

"Yes. Very much."

After talking with the Guild Master, I left the room and took the request we talked about a while ago from the receptionist.

"Thank you so much for taking this quest again. There really aren't any people who wants to take this quest, you see?"

"Well, it's because I have my slimes and magic which make this job convenient for me, but as for others, there probably won't be anyone who'd want to do this job."

"Honestly we'd be better off, if they just took the odd jobs instead of pushing themselves and failing a job… Oh by the way, Ryouma-kun, because of the previous job you took your rank rose. From today on you're an F Rank."

"Is that so?"

"That's right. In order to go from G to F, you need to complete 20 missions of any kind. When you cleaned the latrine pits, there were 30 pits in total. Each pit counted as a mission, and so you were able to fulfill the conditions to go up to F Rank.

In order to go from F to the next rank, E. You need to complete 40 missions of any kind, plus some kind of subjugation request. You went 10 jobs over the 20 jobs required to go from G to F, so I'll add that towards the completion of your Rank E. If you're able to finish the cleaning of all of the 30 latrine pits again today, you'll be able to clear all the conditions for Rank E aside for the subjugation request."

"Really? Thank you very much. Umm…"

"Oh, that's right. I haven't introduced myself have I? It's Meilin."

"Thank you very much, Meilin-san. Well then I'll be on my way."

I left the guild and then did my best to clean the latrine pits again today. Because of the King Scavenger Slime's 'Enlarge' and 'Overeat', I was able to finish all 30 latrine pits in one day. Although the skill level rose, the amount we had to deal with today were quite few…

I then went to report the completion of the request. After a little bit of time, they were able to confirm that I finished the job, and the request was completed.

"Alright, you're good to go. Take care of it again in the future, ok? And then… Ryouma-kun will also be taking the subjugation request for tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, please let me take it."

"Then in that case I'll take care of the papers... OK. If you come over to the guild by 8 in the morning tomorrow, there'll be a stagecoach that you can ride for free. If you miss that, you'll have to either borrow a horse or walk there, but regardless, if you fail to get there by 11, then you'll have your pay reduced."

"I understand. Thank you very much."

After that, I went back to the lodging, prepared for tomorrow, and then went to sleep. It would be nice if a metal slime were to come… if I spot one, I'll tame it. Definitely.

The Next Day

Because of my appointment today, I was sent off by the four members of the Jamil Household and the guards. I then headed towards to the guild in order to be able to ride the stagecoach. When I got to the guild, there was a huge crowd of adventurers and many stagecoaches lined up.

"That's quite a crowd, huh?"

Seeing the stagecoaches, I wondered to myself whether to exercise by running while using the neutral magic 'Strengthening' since I still had some time, but a voice suddenly called out to me from afar.

"Hey! Ryouma!"

"Eh? Ah, Jeff-san!"

That voice was Jeff-san's. Looking carefully, I can see Raypin and Shell as well.

"Good morning, Jeff-san, Raypin-san, Shell-kun."

"Mornin'."

"Good morning, Ryouma-kun."

"Good morning – de aru. Ryouma took this quest too?"

"You guys took it as well?"

"It's 'cause the old man made us take this request. The request this time 'round can be taken even by those of the Rank G, but if a strong monster were to come out it will be a huge disaster. So just in case, we're participating too. Also, it's not just me and Raypin, Miya and Asagi are coming as well. They've already gone ahead though."

"Still, although there's been big requests like this before, there's quite a lot of people this time, huh?"

"That can't be helped -de aru. The beasts in the mine are something that even Rank G adventurers can handle, and since this is a request given by the feudal lord, the reward for it is also suitable. Besides there's also the bonus from the corpses, when they're brought back to the guild.

This is one of the few good opportunities to earn for adventurers of low rank –de aru. And even people who can't fight can get a reward just by gathering corpses. Like this there's almost no one who is unable to take part in this mission –de aru."

"Still, I wonder who's the guy paying for the bonus and buying the magical beasts. I took a look at the list of the magical beasts, and no matter how you look at it those aren't the kind of beasts that have any useful parts. These beasts are just small fries, you know?"

"Although it's good for us, it is quite concerning –de aru."

"Nah, actually, it's nothing special. It'll just be used for feed for the slave monsters."

"Ryouma-kun, do you know something?"

"It's because the one buying the corpses is me."

"So the one buying the corpses was Ryouma? If you're going to use the corpses as feeds for you slime, then I can understand –de aru. Because… you do have a lot of slimes…"

"What do you normally do for their meal anyway?"

"Depending on what kind of slave monster, it could be quite expensive. And those things look like they'd eat quite a lot."

"Slimes don't really eat that much. They can live largely on water alone with a little bit of feed. This time around, I'm planning to use Ice and Space Magic to preserve the corpses, so I can give it to the slimes little by little. Also, I can do this since, if something were to start rotting, then I can simply have the slimes deal with that in one gulp."

"Well that's true. Aside from you, there's no one who can do this."

"Now that you mention it, where are those slimes –de aru?"

"Today the slimes are resting because I worked them really hard yesterday to clean the latrine pits. And also they'll just get mistaken by the surrounding people and end up getting killed."

"Well that's true –de aru."

Shell looked at me quizzically,

"Wait a moment, you cleaned the latrine pits again?"

"Well I was asked to by the guild master and also, today, completing this subjugation request will apparently allow me to become an E Rank."

Hearing that, Jeff-san was shocked,

"That's fast! It hasn't even been a week since you registered, right?"

"I cleaned 30 pits for 3 days during the incident, and then yesterday I cleaned another 30. Every single pit, counts for a mission, so all in all that counts towards a total of 60 completed missions."

"I see…"

While we wear chatting idly, another stagecoach came over. Well, since an empty carriage already came near us, we took the opportunity and rode together.

Like this, we leisurely headed towards the abandoned mine while we chatted. When we got there, we were immediately told to go report to the reception desk they prepared in front of the entrance of the abandoned mine. We did as we were told and were then made to wait there. At 11, all the adventurers were gathered, and the guild master gave us some opening words.

"The people participating today number 264! In order to do this safely, you will all be going in as a 6 man party, one at a time! There will be no scrambling for prey! Those without a party, you were already grouped ahead of time! Come over here to confirm it! And lastly… earn as much as you can!"

Everyone rose their voice at those simple words. Then people gathered, and started entering the tunnel. I also went to check my group and my party ended up being Jeff-san, Miya-san, Wereanna-san, Mizelia-san, and Syria-san. Pretty much everyone was someone I knew. Was the guild master worried about me?

Looking around me, Wereanna-san led 5 other people as they walked towards me.

"Wereanna-san, please take care of me today. The others too, please take care of me."

"Same here, Ryouma."

"Take care of me, nya."

"Take care of me ok?"

"Don't worry, I'll properly guide you as your senpai."

"That's probably impossible for Mizelia. We already met a while ago, but take care of me as well, ok?"

"Wai–, Jeff! Isn't that rude to me!?"

"It's cuz even though you're good at fighting, you're careless."

"What do you mean by that!?"

Seeing the two argue, Wereanna-san couldn't help but sigh,

"What are you guys doing…? Ryouma, let's just leave these two. Just to confirm our fighting strength, what weapon do you have with you? And also, the magical beasts we have in this cave are the cave mantis and the small rat, have you ever fought with them?"

"I've fought with the cave mantis before. As for my weapon, I normally use my bow but, and I can also fight with my short sword as well as with my fists. And then, I can also fight with my magic."

"I see… an all-rounder huh? Then in that case Ryouma will be in charge of attacking with magic since no one else can use magic aside from Ryouma in our group."

"Well it's not really like I can't use it nya. It's just that as beastmen we run out of magic power really quickly nya. So please don't rely that much on our magic."

"As for me, my magic power is relatively high but I can't use anything except for healing magic. Sorry."

After her, Jeff-san began to say as he puffed his chest up,

"As for me and Mizelia, we suck at all magic except for the neutral magic harden and strengthen!"

"… You just changed the way you phrased it. In the end it's all the same nya. Well, Ryouma, what attribute do you have nya?"

"All of them, but, I mainly use earth."

"All Attribute Aptitude huh? That's quite rare nya."

"With that, we can fight in a lot more ways. Regarding earth, is the only attack magic you have Earth Needle?"

"Earth Needle and Rock Bullet. As for the other attributes, the ones I can use inside the cave are the ice attribute, Ice arrow. And the electric attribute, Stun Arrow."

"Then in that case, that's more than enough. Alright, let's go!"

And so we started the mission. Only, because the monsters were so weak, we ended up proceeding quite fast.

"These things just can't fight back."

Mizelia-san couldn't help but shake her head,

"What's the point of asking small rats and slimes to fight back?"

"Besides if a monster that could fight Jeff were to come out it'll problematic nya. We'll be fine, but the others who are ranked G and F will be in danger nya."

"The reason we're here is to deal with a situation like that."

Said Syria-san, as Wereanna-san continued to explain,

"However, since we're already here we can't show a bad example to the lower ranks. It will be bad if they think that we're making money even though we're not doing anything. So let's just keep killing these guys like this."

These guys are amazing. They're all high rank, right? Oh, wait a moment, why is someone like me grouped up with guys like these?

Seeing me deep in thought, Wereanna-san spoke up,

"Something the matter, Ryouma?"

"It's nothing. I was just wondering why a Rank F like me was grouped up with high ranked adventurers like you guys. I wonder if it's because the guild master was worried about me, thinking that it's probably better for me to be with people I know."

"There's no such thing. That old man is definitely a busybody, but when it comes to request he's quite strict. At times like these, he places priority on ability alone."

Syria-san added,

"The guild master may have thought that it would be problematic if a monster that couldn't be defeated with anything else except with magic were to come out with only the five of us, so he had you come along with us. I think he must value Ryouma-kun's abilities quite a bit to make you come with us."

"Actually, Ryouma-kun, the pace we've been going at is actually quite fast, you know? For a normal Rank F Adventurer, the most they would be able to do is to just keep up with us, you know?"

"At the start I thought that we'd have to slow down the pace once Ryouma started to get tired. But since you kept up with us calmly we just kept going like this."

Said Mizelia-san and Wereanna-san as they tried to encourage me.

Really? I didn't notice at all.

"Ryouma, your actual ability is definitely not at F."

"What's the strongest magical beast you've been so far?"

"The strongest I've fought isn't a magical beast. It's a beast that lives in the Forest of Gana, black bear."

Hearing that, the five made a face that said, "Knew it."

"Ryouma-kun, a black bear isn't something that a normal Rank F can beat nya. In order to safely hunt it, one needs to at least be Rank D and have a party. To beat it alone, one needs to be at Rank C, nya."

"Is that so?"

Syria-san nodded,

"That's right. If Ryouma-kun can beat a Black Bear alone, then Ryouma-kun definitely has the ability of at least a Rank C. Did you show that ability to the guild master?"

Now that she mentions, yeah he has.

"When I registered, the proctor of the practical test was the guild master."

"That must have been it."

"Yeah, without a doubt. From that time on, he must have been watching you."

"That's why you were grouped with us."

Said Mizelia-san as Jeff-san added,

"Since you have ability, you don't have to worry about something like rank. With time, you'll eventually reach the same rank as us."

"Oh, now that you mention it what are your ranks?"

"Oh yeah, I haven't mentioned it, nya?"

"We're all Rank B."

Responded, Mizelia-san.

"It's the rank at which an adventurer can finally call himself first class."

"And also, the ones who came with us when we did the job before, were Shell, who is Rank D, Gordon, who is Rank B, and Asagi and Raypin who are both Rank A."

We were talking like that as we walked when Wereanna-san suddenly focused her awareness on what's ahead of us, and began sniffing while she searched for something.

"What's wrong?"

"From the smell, there's a colony of bats ahead IT's not dangerous but because there's too many of them we won't be able to beat them all as they'll end up running away."

"How troublesome… nya"

"Are there any person over there?"

"I don't smell any humans. Do you have some kind of plan?"

"Yes, I have a magic that's convenient for this kind of situation."

As I mentioned that, I explained the effect of my 'Sound Bomb' from yesterday.

Wereanna-san showed me a look of admiration,

"Ho… you could actually do something like that?

Syria-san also nodded,"

"That's a magic I've never heard of before."

Well yeah… it's something I made by using the knowledge I got from back in Earth.

"That magic will only knock them out, right? Can you finish the cave bats off before they recover?"

"The number is really a bit much. If you knock them out, killing them off will be quite easy, but as for whether or not we can finish them off in time…"

"Then in that case, couldn't we receive the help of the people behind us?"

As I said that, the other people also agreed.

Then, Wereanna-san realized something,

"Wait, so you noticed too?"

"It's because I've lived in the forest for 3 years. I've become quite sensitive to the presence of others."

"Is that so? Then can you wait here for a bit?"

Actually, there was a group of six following us from quite a distance behind for a while now. Since they weren't trying to attack us, we've left them alone until now. Also, hearing the conversation of the five with me, I mentioned that they were probably G or E Rank adventurers who were following us from behind to gather the corpses of the monsters to bring it back for money.

Although something like this isn't prohibited, it's not something to be praised either. It's an act that can be considered to be in the 'gray zone'. The monsters killed by someone normally belong to that person, but what they can't carry and things that don't have value are thrown away. Those kind of things being picked up isn't an issue. But because it might become a source of a problem in the future, there aren't a lot of people that do it without permission.

When we rested for a bit, the group came closer. Noticing that we had stopped moving, they were thrown into a panic and quickly stopped moving. At that, Wereanna-san called out in a loud voice.

"To the bastards that have been following us! You've already been found out! Show yourselves!"

Although the 6 were flustered, before long, they showed themselves. What appeared was a group of four humans and two beasts. Wereanna quickly began to question them.

"Why were you guys following us?"

"We were picking up the monsters that you threw away…"

"So you were just picking up the monsters we killed at your own convenience, huh? Well it's not like we actually want to lecture you about this."

At those words the 6 appeared to have been relieved as their expressions became brighter.

"We just want to know why you're doing this kind of thing."

When she said that, a young man replied in a panic.

"Y–Yes! Actually, we are still only ranks G and F so… we were having a bit… of a problem with money…"

"At the start we were still fine, but when we bought weapons and armors for ourselves we ran out of money…"

"And then as for me I failed a contract and ended up having to pay the fine and ran out of money…"

"We are also just barely getting by with our lodging fees and so we wanted to find a way to cut down on our expenses, when this request came out. We thought, that if it was this request, then we would be able to get some money for our current lifestyle for a while. The magical beasts are weak so it's safe, as long as you join you get money, and if you bring monsters with you back you'll also get money. So we thought that we didn't have any way to get money aside from here!"

"And then after taking this request, when we got here we saw you guys. And…"

Jeff-san seeing the stagnant reply of the female human adventurer asked,

"And then what?"

"And…"

As the girl failed to reply properly, a male adventurer continued for her.

"We saw you guys take with you that brat. We figured if you're taking with you into the tunnel a brat like that, then it'd be fine even if we took the corpses of the monsters you threw away. We thought you'd let us off with picking those up since your taking with you a brat that couldn't be anything else except for a hindrance."

At that young man's unpleasant words, the other 5 gave off an unpleasant look. Well I mean yeah, even as a joke I am still a member of this group. You normally wouldn't say that a member of a group is useless. But as for whether it was because they also thought what he thought, or because they were reflecting on the fact that they gave their approval and started acting on that thought, not a single one of them tried to rebut what the young man had said.

To that young man over there. You said it really arrogantly, but you know… the monsters I fell with my own magic were also included amongst the corpses you've picked up, you know?

I'm a little irritated, but it can't be helped even if I were to mind it.

"You guys should know your…"

Wereanna-san who wasn't happy about that raised her voice, but I stopped her.

"Its fine, Wereanna-san."

"Ryouma, it's better to tell it straight to a person like this, you know?"

"This kind of thinking isn't something that can be changed by talking. It really can't be helped that I look weak on the outside."

I could also fix them up with brute force, but I'm not particularly good at holding back so… this guys will probably end up really hurt if I did that…

"… Got it. But… You guys! If you're going to do something like that, at least say something! Just doing something like that on you convenience makes you look like a bunch of thieves! Don't do that!"

"I'm sorry!!"

The 6 people apologized in a big voice. Well, they apologized to everyone aside from me. As expected the other five aren't exactly reflecting, huh?

After apologizing, the 6 people tried to give us the monster corpses they had collected and then go home, but Syria-san and Mizelia-san stopped them.

"Wait! Although we told you it was wrong to gather the corpses without permission, we don't think there's anything wrong with the act itself."

"If you have problems with money, then its fine. Take it."

Hearing that, the six's expression immediately brightened up. They showed their gratitude to everyone else except for me, and said their thanks. Wereanna-san wasn't happy, but in the end we continued as we planned and Miya-san began to recommend the others to help us.

"Actually, there's another reason why we called you guys, nya. There's a colony of bats up ahead, but there's too many so it'll take time before we're able to kill them all, nya. So, won't you guys also help out? It'll be fine even if you take all the corpses back with you, nya."

The six agreed as if it was given. And then, while I confirmed that there were no people around with the magic 'search', Miya-san gave a simple explanation.

"First, Ryouma is going to hit them with magic, and then afterwards were going to rush in, nya."

"That brat will?"

"Won't that kid's magic just make the enemy put up their guard?"

Yep, as expected they aren't reflecting at all.

"If you have any complaints then go home!" roared Wereanna-san.

At that they withdrew, but after getting away a bit, they started whispering things like, "It's the kid's guard, huh?" or "I don't like this" or "It's for the sake of money so it can't be helped". I know, because they can be heard perfectly clear.

Even then though, I ignored them and continued with my preparation. After confirming that there aren't any people over there, I put up a sound-proof barrier, and finished my preparation.

"I'm ready."

"Alright, do it Ryouma. And you guys too, get going!"

"I'm going! 'Sound Bomb'!"

As I invocated the magic, a sound exploded from within the tunnels. However, because of the barrier, we didn't hear a single sound. So the 6 people from a while ago thought I failed.

"Nothing is happening though?"

"As expected it failed."

"This is why brats are useless."

These guys are really shameless. They already completely forgot about what happened a while ago, huh?

"It's a success. It just happens to be a Wind Attribute Magic, so you guys can't see it."

Saying that, I went with Wereanna-san and the rest deep inside. At that, the 6 people made a bunch of excuses while they followed.

However, when they got inside they couldn't help but look at the floor, dumbfounded. What lay on the floor was a great number of cave bats.

"These have all only been knocked out, so please divide the labor amongst yourselves and quickly dispose of them all."

As I said that I immediately began. After we finally finished killing off all the cave bats, we left the six members alone in the deepest part of the cave and went out. As we went outside, Wereanna-san said this,

"Ryouma, is it really ok not to have said anything?"

"Yeah, I already showed off my ability with a shot of my magic. If they can't understand it even with that, then that's all there is to them."

"Well that's also probably true but…"

Jeff-san also couldn't help but say,

"Having been slandered like that, if you don't beat them up a bit and show off your strength, you're going to be made light of, you know?"

"I also thought of beating them up… but I'm quite bad at holding back. I can't do anything else except protecting myself, running away, or killing. If I were to deal with those six, even if I hold back, they'll still end up getting hurt too much."

I didn't really get to fight a lot with normal people back in my previous world… and ever since I got here the only people I've had disagreements with are the bandits.

In elementary, junior high, and high school, if you were to resist someone's bullying half-baked, then it will just end up getting worse… If I fought seriously I could have easily beaten them up but I went easy on them… Of course when my life is in danger I'll resist, but even though I held back a lot, after that everyone started looking at me with eyes as if they were looking at a monster.

While I was thinking that Jeff-san said this,

"You don't have to mind something like that, you know?"

"They also seem like they don't have any money, so if I beat them up right now, they'll end up unable to work and that'll make me feel a bit bad, you know? Right now let's just say that it's because they're desperate to make a living that they're being a bit rebellious."

"Rebellious… is that something that someone younger should say? They should be around 15 years old, you know?"

"Ryouma-kun are you really 11 years old?"

"Well, whatever… if that's what Ryouma-kun has decided then just leave it be, nya. It will be fine as long as you raise your rank quickly, nya."

Although it's true that I'm bad at holding back, it's also because I'm actually an uncle at heart, even though I may look like a kid that is… Anyway, I don't really feel like scolding them over a minor matter, much less beat them up. I really can't do something so childish.

Besides everyone had already scolded them. I've also shown them my abilities with my magic. Aside from this, all that's left is to let them reflect on their own.

While we were talking about that, since it's already time for us to start preparing our meals, we all went back to the entrance of the mine.