The Man Picked Up By the Gods (Reboot)

zChapter 283: A Moment of Rest (2/2)

“I don’t know if you’re just optimistic or wary, but if it were me, I’d choose the cities near the Adra River Basin. There’s a lot of water transportation there because of the big river, and it’s a busy place, so it’s good for sightseeing. It’s easy to blend in with the crowd too. If necessary, you could travel by land, and you could also travel by water.” [Remilie]

“Ryouma-sama, you’ve already lived in a forest, and you can use Dimension Magic too, so I think Count Barams’ territory to the south would make for a splendid choice. There’s a lot of forests around, making it easy to hide yourself, and there are a lot of specialty products from high-class furniture to handiworks, making it a reasonably busy place.” [Sebasu]

“In my opinion, from my experience as a knight, I believe it’s already too late to run if you start running only when you need to. Once wanted posters have been put up, your name and your face will spread throughout the entire country. And even if they don’t, they’ll easily catch your trail as long as you spend some time in human settlements.

Since you can rely on the Jamil family, you might as well rely on them as much as you can. If the situation has turned so bad that you can’t do that, then either flee to a neighboring country, or hide somewhere dangerous that people can’t easily enter.” [Schieber]

I see… In that case, I might as well build a hideout in the Great Forest when I go there. There was a village where I’m headed to anyway, so I should at least be able to build a house for myself. I might as well visit my house in the Forest of Gana and do some maintenance.

“I’m sure you’ll live a good life where you go. In my opinion, you’re better off making yourself influential enough so that it won’t be a problem even if they do spot you. Practically speaking, you should raise your adventurer rank.” [Reinbach]

Reinbach-sama also recommended that I raise my rank not long after we met. Since it was right after the status board was made, and we also talked about my mana, he must have given that advice after considering that I might be a Child of God. It’s a bit late to notice that, though.

“A Rankers are rare even for nobles, but since it’s you we’re talking about, I’m sure you can go ahead and aim for S Rank. If you can get that rank, then even nobles won’t be able to lay a hand on you carelessly.” [Reinbach]

“I was just recently promoted to C Rank, though. Any idea how I could get there?” [Ryouma]

“There are two ways to become S Rank. One is the normal way which is by piling up many achievements over the years. The other way is to simply rise to the top through sheer brute force.” [Reinbach]

To summarize…

The S rank was somewhat of an honorary position and was given to individuals or parties that have achieved many years of achievement as A Rank adventurers. They are people who have been judged to have made significant contribution to the guild or the country. Gimuru’s guild master, Wogan-san, apparently became an S Rank through this method.

But occasionally there are people who don’t fit within the normal framework of the world. The leading example of that are otherworlders like me, or in other words, the Children of the Gods. The S Rank was made to give such people standing in society, as well as to collar them. Certainly, it came with its own troubles, but it was without a doubt effective in terms of social status and as a deterrence.

“By the way, when a knight like myself changes occupation to adventurer, our history is considered experience and is calculated when assigning our rank. That’s why I became A Rank as soon as I registered.” [Schieber]

“I’ll also have my history working as a royal court magician added on top of my previous record once I return to adventurer work, so I’ll either be an S Rank or an A Rank not far off from S Rank. How about forming a party of S Rankers with the three of us?” [Remilie]

That sounds fun! But I think it’s a bit too early.

But Remilie-san just laughed.

“There’s a trick to rank up really fast.” [Remilie]

“A trick? You mean like bribery?” [Ryouma]

“No. I mean a way to efficiently gather contribution points to become an S Rank. Schieber-san and I told you about how our history was taken into account when deciding our ranks, right?” [Remilie]

“…Oh, I get it. So I just need to have something similar to your history as a knight or a royal court magician that they could add to my record.” [Ryouma]

“Exactly! So what I say is that you ought to become a gladiator. Gladiators are spectacles in their own right, and they need strength more than anything else to grow. In other words, as long as you’re strong enough, you’ll be able to rise up the ranks even faster than as an adventurer. If you can get the qualification of a high-ranking gladiator, your ability to fight other people will essentially be certified.” [Remilie]

It kind of feels like getting a certification in order to advance in your career, but its easy to understand.

“In the end, it’s a method that only works if you have the ability, and you’ll stand out too. But so long as you can handle that, you should be able to get quite far. It’s a legal and relatively safe way of gaining experience, not to mention educational.

Your name will also spread when you become a gladiator, so people will be less likely to look down on you because of your youth.” [Remilie]

“That’s true… There’s a former gladiator at my store too, so I’ll try asking him.” [Ryouma]

I should be able to get some detailed information if I ask the former champion, Ox-san. Regardless, there’s no need to rush. I could just think about it after visiting the arena.

Right, I’ll take Ox-san with me too. I’ll have an easier time understanding with someone around to explain things, and he can appear in the arena too if he wants. If he can make money on the arena with his skills, he’ll be able to break free from his slave status quicker, so it’ll be profitable for both of us.

“I’ll check it out after my trip back home.” [Ryouma]

“Sounds good.” [Remilie]

It was in this way that we idly talked and exchanged information while leisurely making our way on slimeback. We were delayed yesterday, but at this rate, we should be able to make up for that and make it before sunset.