The Man Picked up by the Gods – Volume 1 Chapter 12

Volume 1 Chapter 12

Right after Ryouma finished shooting the five targets, Elia made a fuss and was very excited. However, the other four, after seeing Ryouma's abilities, were speechless.

"Amazing, Ryouma-san! Right!? Father!" – Elia

"Ah, ah…" – Rheinhart-san

"When using a bow I thought you had to be more careful aiming but it can actually be shot so fast, huh?" – Elia

At Elialia's words, Sebasu and Rheinbach were a little panicked and corrected her misunderstanding.

"Ojousama that's actually incorrect. What you've seen just now was a display of Ryouma-sama's ability, a normal archer wouldn't be able to display that kind of speed. Ryouma-sama's ability with the bow can't be compared to your run of the mill archer." – Sebasu-san

"Elia, you can't use Ryouma as a standard. Because letting the arrows off at that speed, and hitting all the targets dead center is impossible for a normal person. It's highly probable that even amongst the soldiers of the country, the number of people that can do that are few." – Rheinbach-sama

"Really? As expected, Ryouma-san is really amazing!" – Elia

"Certainly, he's amazing, but…" – Rheinbach-san

"We may have been underestimating Ryouma-sama's true strength" – Sebasu-san

Ryouma doesn't have any self-awareness but with the practice he has had in his previous world coupled with the time he had spent hunting ever since he came to this world. The strength of his bow hand had actually already reached a distinguished level even amongst the soldiers of this country. But even though things may appear this way, he hasn't actually received any cheat from the gods outside of his magic abilities. Therefore, this is purely Ryouma's true strength.

Finishing the examination that involved still targets, the next examination was a pseudo clay pigeon shooting. Ryouma stood at the place he was ordered to stand, and gripped his bow. But since the wall the targets are going to come out of is opposite the location where Elia and the rest are, Elia and the rest, five people in all, stood behind Ryouma and they, along with the examiner could not see the face of Ryouma.

If for example someone were to see Ryouma's face right now, how would they feel? At this moment, Ryouma has increased his concentration to the limit, being without a hint of impatience or tension, yet also without a hint of excitement or enthusiasm. There is tranquility but all the traces of any emotions have completely disappeared from Ryouma. That was not an expression that an 11 year old boy could possibly make.

Looking at Ryouma right now he may appear to be young, but he is in fact a man who has been training ever since his childhood in his previous life, bringing the time he has trained for to be nearly 40 years. Because of that he had acquired the power to concentrate and to stay calm. There were also plenty of times where he wasted time in his day to day life but he valued doing nothing except repetitively doing simple things.

On that point alone did even his colleagues and bosses who scorned him every day acknowledge him. And that's precisely why they used Ryouma like a convenient machine to do their work. But even then, Ryouma wasn't able to fully utilize the strength of his concentration.

The place where Ryouma was able to show his power the most was the martial arts he had gotten familiar with ever since his childhood. Ryoma traced the same kata every day, allowing the technique to permeate his body, and then, he moved his body naturally as if he was breathing. With the body already able to move at will, and having no obstructions in his heart to bind him, he becomes able to bring out his technique completely, to the limits. That is the true power of Ryouma, the talent of Ryouma.

In the past he matched his surrounding and controlled himself. Releasing the technique he had trained in the past wouldn't be forgiven. if he did that those around him would be frightened or would have been frightened. The law of Earth, common sense, that kind of thing which has been passed to the other world, right now… That kind of thing has nothing to do with Ryouma. Having escaped from the walls of the previous world, right here in this world, Ryouma released the true form of his full strength.

The examiner blew his whistle, and a target flew from the right pillar. Ryouma let loose an arrow at where the target was going. The target was pierced and it fell to the ground. The next target came out of the left pillar and again, Ryouma let loose an arrow at the direction the target was going, and it fell to the ground.

There is the question whether the target is going to come out from the right or the left, but what Ryouma has to do won't change. Using the techniques he had trained for a long time, completely seeing through the trajectory of the flying targets, and only earnestly driving the arrows through, repetitively.

Gradually the speed and the interval, at which the targets were being fired at changed, but Ryouma dealt with it. When several targets came out at the same time, he shot through one first, and then quickly took the next arrow from his quiver and before disappearing into the hole on the opposite side, shot through it.

At the last moment, 4 targets came out at the same time but, Ryouma put the arrows in between all his fingers, immediately taking out 4 arrows from his quiver and in the blink of an eye he let loose four arrows and shot through all the targets. At that, he had used up all the arrows in his quiver and the whistle signifying the end of the examination was blown.

~Side Ryouma~

Fuu… Looks like I can finally rest…!!

"Wh–! Earth Needle!"

As I bring down my bow, a knife was thrown at me from behind. In response to that I caught the knife in between my fingers and then threw it back against the examiner.

That man unsheathed his sword and knocked the knife I threw at him down. At that opening I throw away the bow I have in my hand and at the same time use the Earth Magic, Earth Needle. From in front of my eyes, just above, a sharpened rod of stone began to grow. I kicked its roots, breaking it, and the instant it separated I wielded it as a spear.

"Stop! My bad, my bad, with this the exam is over. You've passed so please stop that dangerous thing."

Looks like the knife that was thrown at me was also a part of the exam. While keeping my guard up, I break the spear using Break Rock.

"Sorry about that, the knife I threw is something I generally do when holding these bow exams. A lot of people focus too much on the target and fail to keep their guard around them so it's my way of warning them about that.

And I'd tell them, if this was a forest and my knife was the attack of a magical beast then you'd be dead. Most of the guys would reply that this is an examination area and make an unhappy face. Then, there're also the guys who would be understanding, or grateful, and even some who'd manage to barely dodge but you're the first one who actually fought back. And since I also don't have any problem with your bow, I won't put a limit on you, feel free to take missions according to your rank."

Looks like it really is a part of the examination… or rather it seems like it's because this guy is nosy. I let my guard down and then give my thanks.

"I understand. Thank you very much"

"Yeah, I'll be expecting lots from you, so do your best and don't push yourself too hard. Also, I'm the guild master of the Adventurer's Guild Branch of the Town of Gimuru, Wogan, nice to meet you."

This guy was a guild master!?

"Please take care of me. You were actually a guild master, huh?"

"Aah? Well that's… you guys…"

The Guild Master gave a fleeting side glance to my five companions and then said this.

"I don't know why but there's no way I could leave someone who was accompanied by several members of a Duke Household to some poor guy."

Well that's true…

"You're right…"

"Really, why did the members of the Duke Household all come together to go with you?"

"I met the head, Rheinhart-sama by coincidence while I was hunting in the forest, after two weeks they invited me to go travel with them"

"What kind of setting is that…"

"Please pardon me for interrupting but it seems that the exam has concluded. May I have the pleasure of knowing the results?"

The one who intruded in our conversation was Sebasu-san. If one were to take a good look, it could be seen that Elialia has been itchingly waiting for the results.

"Oh, excuse me. He has passed with no problems, and I've decided not to limit his ability to accept missions since there seems to be no problem with his practical ability."

"I see. Congratulations, Ryouma-sama"

Elialia ran up to me and grabbed my hand, and went around in circles like she was dancing. Elia was really elated and it showed through her entire body… however, being this happy, I can't help but be happy as well.

"Elia-sama, please let go of Ryouma-sama. Ryouma-sama still has some legal procedures to complete"

"Oh! Right…"

"Thank you very much, Sebasu-san"

After that I went to a different room… or rather I went to the office of the Guild Master and registered for the Adventurer's Guild

"Well then, I've said it before Ryouma. I will not be putting a limit on you and so I'll record that in your Guild Card. Like this you'll be able to take missions of the same rank as you, as you wish. But do be careful."

"Yes, I'll do my best"

"Actually, just based on your abilities I can have you start from Rank E but because of your age, if you were to accept a Rank E mission you'll stand out. If you do that all of the sudden, you might end up receiving the ill will of the people around you. So go start off from Rank G and steadily show your ability."

"Thank you very much for your concern"

"Ah– stop, stop. You don't have to use polite speech with me. It's bothersome. That aside… who taught you how to use a bow? An Elf?"

"My grandpa did, but he's not an elf, he's a dwarf"

"A dwarf, huh? A dwarf that uses a bow is pretty rare but, it's not like they don't exist at all. They're a race that's particularly handy with their hands, so I guess there was such an expert with the bow who wasn't an elf, huh? Well whatever… With this we've finished your registration, after that… you should take this with you. "

The Guild Master gave to me one envelope.

"What is this?"

"It's an introduction to a blacksmith I know. In this town you're probably strong enough to handle one or two guys but they're a bunch of stubborn workers so with you being too young there's a possibility they might just turn you away at the gate. You flicked off my knife and from your movements after that, you can also use a spear, yeah? Over there, there's a bunch so go find a suitable weapon over there. As for armor it's not their specialty but they also have quite a bit there. It's better than buying from a bad store."

I'm honestly grateful for this.

"Thank you very much. When I need a new weapon I'll definitely go."

I give my thanks and leave the room of the Guild Master.

And now that the day has gotten dark, I went back to our lodging with the other five who were waiting for me in a different room.

At that I remembered something.

"Sebasu-san, is it possible to receive stones for the purpose of making a stone statue of a god in this lodging as well?"

"Yes, it's possible. Are you going to make another one?"

"Actually, in my baptism today I received the divine protection of a god I've never prayed to before… so I thought I'd make that person's statue" (TL Note: he uses the polite version when saying that person)

"I see… then, if Ryouma-sama does not mind me asking, may I know whose divine protection it is that you have received?"

"It's the divine protection of the God of Wine, Tekun. Or so it shows in my status board"

"The God of Wine, Tekun, was it? It's rare for a human to receive his divine protection, Tekun-sama is a god of wine and at the same time the god of arts and craft. And is fundamentally worshipped by the dwarves. Would you happen to know why he would give you his protection?"

"My grandpa who picked me up, happens to be a dwarf. And I also helped out a little in my grandpa's smithy"

I see, so that's the reason. It's highly probable that during that period something happened and Ryouma-sama gained Tekun-sama's favor. However, I'm quite concerned why Ryouma-sama did not receive the Divine Protection of the God of Craftsmanship instead."

"Divine Protection of the God of Craftsmanship?"

"The divine protection that Tekun-sama gives has two kinds. One is the Divine Protection of the God of Craftsmanship, and the other is the Divine Protection of the God of Wine. The effects are, of course, different. I've heard that the former divine protection allows the blessed one's skill in smithing and the likes to increase faster, and will be able to produce good products. As for the latter, the effect goes that no matter how much one drinks wine, one won't end up dead drunk and won't get a hangover. And also, the opportunities to find good wine will increase. This is quite envious but even if its found out, it's not something that would cause problems"

"Is that so…"

"Well let's put that aside. If Ryouma-sama is going to make a statue for Tekun-sama, then I believe this stone should be able to serve that purpose well."

As Sebasu-san said that he took something out of his item box. It's one of the stones I made out of the earth and sand of the landslide.

"This…"

"This is the stone that Ryouma-sama had made. We brought these here since the size is fixed and there're plenty of these, so we thought it could be sold in the town and help with Ryouma-sama's daily expenses. I did this because I believe Ryouma-sama would probably refuse mine, as well the Madam's and the rest's support."

"Thank you for going out of your way to do this for me"

"Please don't mind it. Also in regards to the stone statue, I've heard that Tekun-sama dislikes unnecessarily extravagant things. So it would be best to use cheaper materials when creating Tekun-sama's statue, and then creating the statue elaborately with all of one's own heart. And also offering a wine in front of the statue is best. The picture of Tekun-sama can also be bought just like the stones, and since it's the lodging we can buy wine as well"

"Then let's go buy"

I went with Sebasu-san to the employee's area, talked about my situation, and was told that a high class alcohol that was very hard to get had just arrived.

I was planning to just buy 3 bottles of that wine for the purpose of giving it as an offering, but Sebasu-san's eyes' color suddenly changed and bought two barrels. Apparently it's Rheinbach-sama's favorite brand of alcohol, but because it isn't produced outside of a certain limit for the year, it's extremely difficulty to acquire.

Thanks to Ryouma-sama's protection, or so Sebasu-san said as he gave his thanks with an amazing smile. From the looks of it, it's not just Rheinbach-sama but also Sebasu-san who likes this wine.

After that I went back to my room, made the statue, offered the wine, took a bath with the Cleaner Slime and then retired for the day.