Resistance Skills
Physical Pain Resistance 8, Mental Pain Resistance 9, Health 7
Special Skills
Life Enhancement 3, Super Recovery 3, Stamina Enhancement 6, Mental Concentration 5, Survival Arts 3
Titles
Rise from Below
Ended an Unfortunate Life
Apprentice of the God of Military Arts
Apprentice of the Sage
Beloved Child of the Gods
Protections
Protection of Gain, the Creator
Protection of Kufo, God of Life
Protection of Lulutia, Goddess of Love
So the number following the skill is the proficiency level of that ability. Learning the basics is level 1-2, level 3 is established, level 4 is experienced, level 5 is top-notch, and level 6 and above is mastery... I guess my 39 years of experience came through. Most of these skills are from work, school, or the part-time jobs I did. Abilities like programming don’t seem to exist in this world, so they’re not written here... And titles and protections don’t seem too useful to me right now... All right, let’s see how I can dig a hole with these skills.
For the next ten minutes, Ryoma glared at the explanations of the skills written on the next page, reading them carefully.
Then, he spotted a certain skill.
Energy meditation — an ability that enhances the physical body using life force.
By focusing the mind on the energy within oneself and circulating it around the body like magical energy, the physical functions of the body could be improved as a whole. It could also be used to enshroud a weapon in energy and increase its sharpness and might.
Because it was a skill acquired naturally through prolonged training of the body in combat abilities, it could sometimes be used unconsciously.
This must be why my body’s been moving so fluidly. It seems like it’d be useful once I understand it fully. There was also an earth magic somewhere... Oh, there.
Basic earth elemental magic, Rock.
A spell to harden dirt and turn it into stone or rock.
The shape could be controlled by the caster’s will.
“Rock.”
Ryoma cast the magic on the crumbled earth from the cliff and instantly turned it into a pebble.
“All right. Rock, Rock...”
He used the same magic to create a short spike out of the dirt, then Break Rock to shape the tip of it into that of an animal fang.
Once it was done, Ryoma grabbed the spike with an overhand grip and faced the cliff once more, taking a deep breath to use energy meditation.
“Hah!”
He wrapped his right arm and the tip of the spike with energy, then swung it down on the surface of the cliff with all his might.
The single collision between the towering cliff and energy enhanced spike made of the same material caused a groove as deep as the second knuckle of a finger to be carved into the cliff surface.
“All right!”
Seeing that result, Ryoma continued to swing his stick into the cliff, digging a hole at a pace exceptionally faster than when he was using magic.
“Ah! It’s broken. Rock!”
By fixing his tool each time it broke, Ryoma had dug a cave with enough space for himself and his belongings by dusk.
However, since he had been continuously using a power he was unfamiliar with, he also felt a faint sense of fatigue.
I guess I’ll stop here for today.
Ryoma turned to take his gathered food and water inside the completed base for the time being, when his eyes caught sight of a scenery that left him speechless.
“Wow...”
The outside view was colored in the fiery glow of the sunset.
The leaves in the trees were dyed crimson, while a bright green spread through the undergrowth and on the leaves out of the direct sunlight.
While his eyes were captivated by the beauty of the scenery, the sky gradually transitioned from dusk to a starry night.
How beautiful... There’s so many stars. It’s been so long since I’ve seen this many stars. No, when was the last time I even stopped to look at the scenery?
Even as he stared at the sky, he had no answer.
However, Ryoma was able to carry his belongings into the cave with some sense of satisfaction.
Taking a blanket out of his supplies, he made a place to sleep against the wall, then reached inside his supplies again for food.
Because he had chosen fruits and plants that could be eaten raw, there wasn’t much in his portion.
But he was able to fill some of his stomach with half his total portion.
I’ll save the rest for tomorrow and sleep for now. I’ll start gathering food and other things I need to survive starting tomorrow. There’s lots to do, but it’s all worth doing.
He blocked the entrance of the cave for safety, leaving only a hole for air.
“Gain, Kufo, Lulutia... I am truly grateful to you all for your kindness.”
Having finished his work for the day, Ryoma wrapped himself in the blanket and whispered his passing thoughts of his life to come, the words echoing into the darkness of the cave before disappearing.
Several minutes later, he was breathing peacefully in his sleep.
■ ■ ■
Meanwhile, three pairs of eyes peered at Ryoma’s sleeping face from the divine realm. Their owners were Gain, Kufo, and Lulutia... In other words, the gods that had sent Ryoma to Seilfall.
“Looks like it’s going well so far.”
“Yes, he had no problem receiving the powers either.”
“And he’s made shelter for now. It seems like he’ll be fine.”
The three of them showed relief in the endlessly wide, white space that they stood in.
“Indeed. But let’s keep watching over him for a while. Even with consent, it would pain me to see him suffer. And I’m a little curious anyway. Would you agree, Kufo, Lulutia?”
“Yup, I agree with Gain.”
“Me too. But honestly, what was Earth’s god thinking? Interfering with the fates of the living for no reason.”
While Kufo approved of Gain’s suggestion, Lulutia went on to express her clear disgust for Earth’s god.
“Calm yourself, Lulutia. There’s no point in wondering about that now.”
“But doesn’t it bother you too, Gain?”
“Of course. He’s a fine specimen of a human, but you definitely don’t see many humans who have their fates tampered with like that. Not even a god would dare interfere with fate so flippantly. For one to take a person’s happiness is, quite honestly, reprehensible.”
“I can’t imagine why one would go out of their way to use trials to do that.”
Trials were a type of salvation originally meant to be presented by the gods managing the world onto a large collective such as a race or a kingdom in times of great, imminent danger. The decision to present the trial and timing of when to do so was entrusted to the judgment of the world’s gods, but overcoming the trial meant a befitting power could be obtained. Many of the heroes spoken of in legends had used the power they gained to drive away the threat just like this.
“The goal was to present hardship, but a trial is still a trial. Overcoming that hardship would result in receiving a power...”
“It seems like each occurrence was continuously suppressed at the level of everyday misfortune or bad luck, and for an awfully long time at that...”
“They say that enough dust can make a mountain, after all. The fact that the power he received was useless for his work and fortune was also rather wicked. Well, it was fortunate that his body was strengthened instead, I guess. If not...”
“We only realized it because of that, after all. And from what I can see of his memories, his father also...”
The gods continued to chat until the completely oblivious Ryoma woke up.