In the spring, I had planned to learn archery, but it had been delayed due to being busy with the horse king construction. Now, I was pulling the bowstring.
“Pull it more.”
“Yes.”
My arms were shaking from holding the bow. My level was decent, so I could pull the bow, but keeping it steady was quite difficult.
Whoosh! The arrow flew in the completely wrong direction.
“You move when you pull the bow, that’s why it happens.”
“Yes.”
I pulled the bow again, my arms trembling. I needed to hold it steady here, or I’d miss the target.
Whoosh! I still needed more practice to hit the target.
I practiced sword fighting and archery every day, and also went to check on the state of the horse king. The season had turned to summer, but the old mine was consistently cool. Even in the summer, the temperature didn’t rise, making it an ideal place for brewing sake.
After checking on the horse king, I returned to the mansion, only to be suddenly hugged by my mother. Surprised, I braced myself. Behind her, my father stood grinning. What on earth was going on?
“Mom is pregnant,” she said.
“Huh!?”
“You’re going to have a brother or sister!”
What? I was going to have a sibling? I was overjoyed. I couldn’t have been happier.
“Congratulations, Mom and Dad!”
“You’re happy about it?”
“Of course! When is the baby coming?”
“Expecting around September.”
“I can’t wait!”
That evening, we had a big feast to celebrate the news of the baby.
“Congratulations, Master, Mistress, and young Master Toma.”
“Congratulations!”
Everyone, from family to servants, celebrated, and we rejoiced in the happy news. Whether it was a brother or sister, I hoped the baby would be born safely.
The next day, after checking on the horse king, I entered a different old mine that I had set up for brewing sake.
This mine was located far from the one used for sake storage. Since not many people came near this area, it seemed perfect for my purposes.
“I need to level up quickly.”
A sibling was coming. I wanted to provide some economic strength to the territory when the child would inherit it in the future.
— Conversion!
“………”
It seemed like nothing was changing in the rough rock walls. My mana hadn’t been consumed either. It seemed impossible to turn rock into gold. I had been trying for a while, but I had never succeeded in turning it into gold or silver.
Maybe my current mana capacity was insufficient to convert it into precious metals.
Perhaps because I had been concentrating in the dark mine, I started to feel a little drowsy. Maybe I should sleep for a bit. I leaned against the wall and fell asleep.
“Ow!?”
I suddenly woke up from the sharp pain in my left foot. There was a rabbit-like monster biting my foot.
“Huh? Why is a magical beast here?”
Who said there were no magical beasts in the mine? I shook my left foot, trying to throw off the long rabbit that was biting me.
The long rabbit was a rabbit-shaped monster, about 50 cm long, with ears of the same length.
Weapons? …I don’t have any! I didn’t expect monsters to show up, so I hadn’t brought a sword.
“What should I do…!?”
I grabbed a nearby torch and held it defensively.
“Come at me!”
I practiced sword fighting every day. I should be able to handle a long rabbit.
The long rabbit jumped at me.
“Is it… not fast?”
It seemed like the rabbit’s movements were in slow motion. I swung the torch and knocked it back.
“Yahh!”
I kicked the long rabbit in the face, sending it crashing into the rough rock wall.
“Ugh…”
The long rabbit stopped moving. I cautiously brought the torch closer, but it didn’t move. If it were still alive, it should have reacted to the heat.
“Did I win? Is that all?”
I thought the fight was over when I started feeling a dull pain in the spot where the rabbit had bitten me.
My pants had a hole in them, and blood was leaking out. I tied the wound with a handkerchief and limped deeper into the mine. Though it hurt to walk, it wasn’t unbearable.
“Eh…?”
Now there was a slime in front of me. It was a blue gel-like blob. It seemed that many monsters had entered this mine. I slowly backed away, distancing myself from the slime.
After exiting the old mine, I returned to the mansion.
“Young Master!?”
The maid, Sarah , noticed my injured foot.
“What happened to your foot?”
“A magical beast appeared in the mine and bit me.”
“What are you saying… Toma!? What happened to you?!”
My mother rushed to me in a panic.
“It’s nothing serious, please calm down. It won’t be good for your health.”
“How can I calm down with something like this!”
“Mistress, please step back. I will treat him… I will pray to the Great Water Goddess, Aquariel. Aqua Healing.”
The cool sensation felt nice.
It was a bit gruesome to see the flesh swell and the skin regenerate, but it worked.
Soon after, my father arrived.
“Wait, there were monsters in the mine? Which mine are you talking about?”
After I told him about the mine with the monsters, my father grabbed a sword and left. He probably intended to deal with the monsters before they caused any harm to others.
That evening, when my father returned, he delivered shocking news.
“It had turned into a dungeon.”
A dungeon. That was a place that created monsters. Its mechanism was not understood, so no one knew how it became a dungeon.
“It seems like it was newly formed, and the monsters there were all weak ones.”
“What will we do?”
“It could be perfect for training the new recruits.”
My father had a very positive attitude about this, but dungeons could release large numbers of monsters, potentially causing a huge disaster. Using it for training soldiers seemed rather reckless. But perhaps, at my father’s level, a dungeon was no big deal.
Toma Rocksfell’s Profile
- Race: Half-God Demi-God (Human, Divine)
- Gender: Male, Age 7, Healthy
- Title: Apostle of ×××
- Rank: G
- Affiliation: God
- Blessing: God of Conversion (Awakening Pending)
- Level: 81
- Skills: Conversion (Level 2)
- Life: 1,177 (3,531)
- Stamina: 1,203 (3,611)
- Mana: 1,270 (3,812)
