The Man Picked up by the Gods – Volume 3 Chapter 74: Spreading Rumors (2/2)

As I left the town and walked on the empty and peaceful path, it suddenly occurred to me.

..Can’t I just make the katana myself?…

The material used to make modern-day katana is tamahagane. A kind of steel made from charcoal or iron sand.

Charcoal, I can make. After all, I am a former Japanese salary man. And the number of times I’ve dreamt of living a peaceful life after retirement where I burnt charcoals couldn’t be counted. It was also a very important resource during winter in the Forest of Gana.

Procuring iron sand is even simpler. The representative black triiron tetraoxide is different from the ferric oxide that I use as feed for my metal and iron slimes, but it’s still a compound of iron (Fe) and oxygen (O) [1]. As such, using alchemy, I can get as many as I need back at the mines.

As for the forging method, well I have that too.

Actually, my dad was a swordsmith. I’ve seen him work countless times as a kid. He also used to bring me to the workshop where he manufactured iron. When I’d grown up a little, he even asked me to help out. In that way, he secretly taught me how to forge the katana.

But unfortunately, he quickly saw that I didn’t have any talent for forging.

I have the knowledge and I can procure the ingredients. The only thing missing is the technology. Which is why I probably won’t be able to make something practical. Or at the very least, I won’t be able to make it anytime soon. If I really want to make one, it would be best to learn from someone first. But again, that would take time.

Still, making one by myself does seem like an interesting idea.

“I only wonder if this would break some rule. I should’ve asked.” [Ryouma]

Whatever. I’ll ask Asagi-san next time.

As I decided that, I suddenly realized something.

It’s not a katana, but I think I have something I can use…

 
 
 
 
 

“Item Box.” [Ryouma]

As soon as I got back to the mines, I set the monsters free in the open area, while I went off on my own to look for something.

I’m pretty sure I put it here somewhere… Ah, found it!

The weapon I took out was none other than the weapon of a bandit I defeated in the past, Melzen’s spear.

It’s a bit long, but it’s neither rusted nor deformed anywhere. Considering its length, it was actually quite light. It wasn’t made out of iron, though… Flame crystal? I used Identify on it, but I couldn’t really understand the result. I’ll have to ask someone about it. Anyway, this should serve me just fine for now.

The metal slimes and the other slimes were rolling down a slope as they enjoyed their free time.

After making sure that there weren’t any slimes nearby, I started swinging Melzen’s spear.

“…No problem with swinging it. But as expected…”

The technique I inherited from my dad in its original form is said to be a technique passed down by a samurai who lived through the warring period.

His social standing was up there, so he was fairly proficient in martial arts and was himself also interested in the discipline.

But because he wasn’t the oldest son, he lived his life as he pleased. I don’t know if he was kicked out of his family or if he left, but apparently, he lived quite the destitute life.

He didn’t think much of it when he was young and passionate, but in his later years, he changed.

He was poor. He had no children and no wife. He was skilled in the sword, but he wasn’t famous. When he looked back to his life, he wondered what he’d been doing until now. As he realized that he had no legacy to leave, he became sad.

As a result, he decided to leave behind his technique and knowledge. It is said that from that moment on, he started looking for students and did his best to teach them.

The main weapon he used to survive the warring period was a spear. The katana was nothing more than a secondary weapon for when the spear was lost. That’s why samurais, as well as me, have inherited the skill and are able to use the spear effectively.

But honestly speaking, katanas are easier to use.

This doesn’t have anything to do with the times. If I had to put the blame on something or someone, then I would say it’s my dad’s fault.

The things I’ve learned from my dad include the katana, the spear, the staff, the wakizashi, the bow, the shuriken, the kusarigama, and the hidden weapons.

My dad taught me the techniques in a particular order. Hand-to-hand combat and the katana were the most prioritized. In fact, I wasn’t even allowed to touch the other weapons until I was good enough with them. And because Iwas learning for the first time with the katana, I was instructed to spend a lot of time with it.

It wasn’t because he was a swordsmith that he favored the katana. No. Most probably it was because the katana and the one’s unarmed fists were easier to use in modern times.

After all, techniques with weapons can only be used when you have the weapon equipped. But modern laws forbid citizens from carrying weapons.

Depending on the place, one would also be subject to a search via a metal detector.

It was a time where even carrying a stick of wood would subject one to questioning.

But hand-to-hand combat can be used without a weapon, and katanas are considered as a work of art, so people are allowed to possess them. It’s also shorter than spears or rods, so it’s easier to hide. So, I think that’s why he prioritized those two.

I didn’t actually hear the reason from him directly, though.

I do think his common sense is fairly unique compared to the world’s common sense. Although he acted friendly to outsiders, so he was often appraised highly.

I wonder how much my katana can cut if it were used to cut humans.

“!? …” [Ryouma]

“KURURURU” [Rimel Birds]

Dad!?… Wait…

There’s no one around. There’s no presence of people. My monsters are just doing as they please and no one’s acting like anything is out of the ordinary. If anything, I supposed the rimel birds are a little shocked. But that’s my fault.

“…My imagination, huh.” [Ryouma]

I walked around and checked the place, but really… Nothing was out of the ordinary

I was probably just imagining things because I was thinking about dad.

“Still, I wish I’d asked for my dad’s katana before transmigrating…”

Dad wanted to test the katana for its original purpose, but if he’d cut someone, then he wouldn’t be able to forge katanas anymore. That’s why he couldn’t cut anyone.

His personality aside, dad was a person who lived to forge the greatest katana.

He was someone who received acclaim as a swordsmith, so he should’ve been really good.

If only I had his katana. How unfortunate.

“Let’s stop thinking about this… There’s nothing I can do about it now, so… Yeah.” [Ryouma]

Anyway, if I recall correctly, this spear is supposed to be a magic weapon. If I let mana course into it, it should be able to cast a spell.

Let’s try it out.

My interest shifted to the spear and I became excited at the prospect of another experiment.

When I tried pouring mana into the spear, fire came out.

…So this spear can cast fire magic.

Can it cast anything else other than ignition and fire ball?

It seems it doesn’t really matter how much mana I feed it. Its output seems to be standardized.

It doesn’t matter what attribute your mana is either.

…But it seems to consume less mana when you use mana of the same attribute.

So, it’s best just use fire with it.

Like this I investigated Melzen’s spear, or rather… I fiddled with Melzen’s spear.

“The sun is starting to set…” [Ryouma]

I should put an end to this soon.

…I fiddled with Melzen’s spear a lot, but it didn’t seem all that useful.

Magic weapons allow one to use magic easily like alchemy, but it’s not very flexible.

It’s useful for people who can’t use magic when fighting a monster that’s immune to physical attacks, but the thing is I do know how to use magic. And in fact, my fire magic is stronger than the one this spear casts. I can also cast a greater variety of fire spells. So, as interesting as the weapon is, it’s not really much different than a normal spear.

As I concluded that, I stored Melzen’s spear into my Item Box.

Now then, I better make supper.

 

[1] – Author included the chemical symbols, so I figured I might as well.

Tl Note: 3 out of four releases for this week. There’s one more remaining release for this week that I need to make up for, but we’ll just add that to next week’s. Also, if you play Nioh, I believe that game has many of the weapons that Ryouma mentioned. The kusarigama is just a sickle with a chain and ball.


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40 responses to “The Man Picked up by the Gods – Volume 3 Chapter 74: Spreading Rumors (2/2)”

  1. Cake Avatar
    Cake

    Hmm, the part where he’s thinking about the dad and the guy who passed down the spear technique is a bit vague with the pronouns. Actually, I had a brain fart while reading it and thought Ryouma’s dad was a survivor of the Sengoku period…

  2. Zales Avatar
    Zales

    so katana curse got this novel too >-<"

  3. Trollhand Avatar
    Trollhand

    If you want to forge a sword/katana, just use freakin’ steel. No need to fold it, too if the material is good. Why would he need some iron sand? Using alchemy he could get all the steel he would want with iron (which he has plenty of) and carbon from the air or anything organic, really.

    1. awsdert Avatar

      That would be conspicuous, nobody in that world knows of or how to make steel as a result it would quickly out him as a reincarnator to anybody smart/dangerous enough to be a threat if they knew

      1. Tran Avatar
        Tran

        What? No, that’s stupid. Of course they know how to make steel, otherwise the story would’ve explicitly mentioned that all their weaponry is bronze or some more exotic material.

        It’s explicitly referring to “Tamahagane” because nihonronjin garbage has created the myth of the magical katana. Iron sand is only equivalent to other iron sources if it is carefully filtered from the other sediment it is mixed with using modern tools. There is no advantage whatsoever to choosing iron sand over any other available source of iron, as iron is and always will be the same element no matter where you get it.

        The other guy is absolutely right in that alchemy allows him absolute control over the smelting process, and would thus produce vastly better alloys than any 16th century metalworker could ever dream of. If Ryouma knew anything about modern metallurgy he could go nuts with something nice like fatigue resistant chrome-silicon spring steel.

    2. Dancer Avatar
      Dancer

      He wants to make a Japanese katana, not an ordinary katan pattern sword.

      The sand-iron is inferior to the metals used in Europe so the forging methods were developed to make weapons on par or better than European swords using the inferior iron available in Japan.

      With a high quality vanadium carbon steel (Damascus) it is possible to match a Japanese sword without the forging techniques. With the Japanese forging techniques and Damascus steel an extremely strong & flexible blade can be made.

      The lost secret of Damascus blades is the use of iron ore that has a trace vanadium contamination.

      Once again knowledge of chemistry is required to get the greatest benefit from alchemy.

  4. Slime waifu when Avatar
    Slime waifu when

    MC’s dad was a swordsmith, and he taught MC archery, hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship… His ancestor was a samurai who used the spear, and MC somehow knows the story of his life. Of course, MC knows how to make katanas.

    There should be a limit on how many ass pulls you can make.

    1. Anonymous Avatar
      Anonymous

      He’s The Man Pulled by the Gods

      1. Godric Kharg Avatar

        His father was also a virgin who never married or had kids…

        It certainly didn’t say he was widowed and/or had all his children grown…

        Wait… something else feels wrong… or didn’t Ryuoma say farewell to his parents and siblings before transmigrating…?

        1. caudyr Avatar

          Yeah, what’s wrong here is you read the one line wrong. The “school” that his dad learned (and taught him) was taught by a DESTITUTE SAMURAI that had no children or wife and was looking for students to pass on his teachings in the later years of his life.

          That’s how Ryouma came to learn the same style. My brain farted and I thought the same thing at first, but…yeah.

          1. Dancer Avatar
            Dancer

            The school was founded by a destitute samurai.

            Now think about it. What did the students do with their lives?

        2. Dancer Avatar
          Dancer

          Ryouma’s father trained in the school. Ryouma was trained by his father. Reading comprehension helps🐶

          His father may be a great grand disciple of the founder. There is nothing to indicate Father was a destitute samurai or even a direct disciple

  5. Ohalehi Echezonachukwu Avatar

    seriously? mc’s father now actually is a swordsmith? please find a better excuse

  6. Isaac Cunningham Avatar

    the number of times I’ve dreamt of living a peaceful life after retirement where I burnt charcoals couldn’t be counted.

    same, every day I am sat here thinking about burning charcoal

    1. tarryless Avatar
      tarryless

      Can I interest you in our Lord and Savior, P R O P A N E ?

      1.  Avatar
        Anonymous

        Is dat yew, hank??

  7. Isaac Cunningham Avatar

    the dad has been described more in the remake, I wonder if he is going to become important plot wise

    1. awsdert Avatar

      I think his dad’s soul is somehow fused into his own or something since this chapter hinted that his dad was watching at the end there.

  8. Revilo7B Avatar

    Thanks for the chapter!

  9. elyandarin Avatar

    Iwas learning -> I was

  10. KuroHaruto Avatar

    Thanks for the chapter!!!

  11. hb98rml Avatar
    hb98rml

    Thank you for the update ❤️

  12. Kai Avatar
    Kai

    Thanks for the chapter
    I get a vibe that his dad was just like Shigure’s dad, from History’s Strongest Diciple Kenichi, who was also a weapon smith tried and successfully created a masterpiece, an unbreakable sword. He also made himself look bad in front of Shigure, so that Shigure would not be as bad as him.

  13. Lenara Avatar
    Lenara

    Ty for the chappy~ was this is in the original? Can’t remember at all~

  14. Daiz71 Avatar

    Thanks

  15. Ethereal Rainbow Canvas Avatar

    Thanks for the chapter!

  16. Cerlancelo Avatar
    Cerlancelo

    Thanks for the chapter.

  17. ryuukun17 Avatar

    This wasn’t in the previous version

  18. twinnnn100 Avatar

    thanks for the chapter

  19. Zax Avatar
    Zax

    His dad is pretty extreme. Thanks for the chapter

  20. sfcipher Avatar

    Thanks for the treat.

  21. kariageweb Avatar

    Thanks for the chapter! 🙂

  22. kaminokitsune Avatar
    kaminokitsune

    Well, it did say that he had no talent from the start!

  23. Ma Avatar
    Ma

    Wondering why his dad had all these ninja like skills

  24. Haru Avatar
    Haru

    The more I read this the more i think all of his backgrounds are too convenient

    1. Peach Mango Avatar

      Yeah…his luck too, I mean with all the people he met, and not even a single downfall yet? Isn’t he too lucky? Did the Earth god did something? I remember the other gods talking about how the Earth god made some changes to Ryouma’s soul because he interfered with his life…and stealing people’s luck…does this have something to do with it?

  25. darkLoki Avatar
    darkLoki

    Thanks for the chapter , really no one ask about his grandparents…

  26. DaiCho Avatar
    DaiCho

    In all honesty, I always get spooked when his dad appeared here. And for some reason, every time I read this part, it was always night which makes this all the more scary for me. I wonder how the manga’s gonna cover this one…

  27. Mychael Dark Avatar
    Mychael Dark

    To be fair, he did say it was simply easier for him to handle cause he had extensive time and training for it. He even pointed out that the Katana wasn’t really anything more than a backup weapon. In his case it’s more of just a weapon he’s well trained with rather than the typical “superiority” that we encounter in these type of stories. And yes I know this comment is 4 years old. Hell I’m reading this through for the umpteenth time just for something to read, but i figured I’d leave a comment for future readers.

  28. Peach Mango Avatar

    His dad really is peculiar, I mean why’s he training his son this much on such a slightly peaceful world? I understand hand to hand combat, but weapons especially the hidden ones, why does he have to beat the knowledge to his son this much? If he had a foresight that his son might become an otherworlder, that would make sense… Also, the Earth god, purposely sucking out a person’s happiness? Unless he’s preparing them to be more than willing to become otherworlders to escape to live a better life, it really wouldn’t make sense….quite mysterious, dont’cha think?

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