The Esteemed Grandfather and the reason the Weakest aims to be the Strongest
TN Note: Lots of exposition in the early few chapters, which I didn"t particularly like. But once world building is over, that style stops and the story gets really good so hang in there! d(^_^o)
Kanji can be read differently depending on what the author decides, for example, you could write “好敵手” which by itself would mean worthy rival, but if you put (とも) beside the kanji, you are indicating that it should be read as tomo, or friend instead, which means something different and creates a double meaning. The author does this a lot to coin his own terminology and I"ll put the literal translation of the kanji in brackets for some cases where if I don"t, it"ll be quite hard to understand.
「Can"t let yourself be looked down upon」
That"s the catchphrase of my Grandpa, who used to be a Seeker.
A Seeker – like the name says, is someone who searches for things for their livelihood.
Their target could be treasures sleeping inside ruins, perhaps even the ruins themselves, unknown creatures or even criminals.
But the most attractive way to earn their keep, is exploring an Abyss after all.
Exploring the land and buildings that have turned into an Abyss, where the real world and the Void(Demon World) connects, and hunting Beasts(Demonic beings) that have crossed into the real world. That is the way of life of a Seeker that is most recognized by the people.
As leaving an Abyss alone will cause it to endlessly expand into the real world, countries actively encourage and support Seeker activities. Because in order to cleanse the land of an Abyss, the Beast that serves as the core of that Abyss must be hunted down and Seekers are the experts at doing just that.
Another reason is that the components obtained from the Beasts themselves are necessary for the many inventions that support the current civilization – the Magical Tools civilization.
In any case, it is not too much to say that Seekers, who can obtain wealth and fame just by being strong, are like idols for the people.
「Noel, as a man, you can"t let yourself be looked down upon」
My Grandpa used to be a famous Seeker in Etorai, the imperial capital of the Werunant Empire. In fact, he was a man among men – a Hero, was what he was called.
「Noel, become a strong man who can"t be looked down upon by anyone」
His boulder like hand, from which you can feel the traces of his active period as a Seeker, gently patted my head.
Grandpa"s Job, which well suited his giant body, was Warrior.
Jobs, revealed through an appraisal, shows the individual"s potential, the limits of their physical abilities as well as the skills they can use.
From the start, everyone gets a C Rank Job but by raising the rank through hard work and talent, it is possible to get a high tier Job.
Let"s take the most popular combat type Job, Swordsman, as an example. A rank up system like this exists –
C Rank: Swordsman -> B Rank: Gladiator -> A Rank: Sword Master
But in extremely rare cases, there are people who have attained the extraordinary EX Rank. Grandpa was one of them. In his case, he ranked up like this –
C Rank: Warrior -> B Rank: Vanguard-> A Rank: Berserker -> EX Rank: Destroyer
Achieving high tier Jobs doesn"t actually change much about your original job itself but you gain a large correction in your ability stats and increases the amount of usable skills.
If you were to give an approximation of each rank"s strength, C Rank would be that of a normal person, B Rank would be super-human, A Rank would break the realm of humanity and those that reached EX Rank would almost reach the domain of the G.o.ds.
When Grandpa was young, he was really strong. Strong and rough around the edges and also arrogant.
But even such a person fell in love and desperately won over my Grandma, who was an extremely beautiful and gentle woman. And she was also very frail.
Grandpa, who loved Grandma dearly, retired from being a Seeker and left the polluted air of the imperial capital to move to the countryside. He used the fortune he had earned to buy land, hire workers and thought of building a life making wine.
It was probably what people thought of as an ideal retirement. What we call a slow life.
In fact, the Grandpa who was feared among Seekers as「Over Death」(Immortal Demon) , became just an uncle who was devoted to his wife after moving to the countryside.
Grandpa loved Grandma from the bottom of his heart and Grandma loved him back. They were a happily married couple, supporting each other in their marital bliss.
But Grandma pa.s.sed away while giving birth to Mum.
Giving birth is already such a desperate struggle by itself, and Grandma"s frail body could not endure the rigors of childbirth.
Grandpa fell deeply in sorrow with the pa.s.sing of the one he loved the most. However, he did not lose himself in despair and was determined to bring up the child his wife had left him, by himself.
His efforts paid off and Mum grew up to be a splendid lady. She was the splitting image of Grandma, who was praised as a beauty, with only the colour of her hair and eyes being different. Grandma had blonde hair and green eyes but Mum inherited Grandpa"s black hair and hazel eyes.
Mum was found to have a production type Job, and once she was an adult, worked in the winery with Grandpa and got married to Dad, her childhood friend.
Then I was born and the family of four lived happily together.
However, I have no memories of my parents.
My earliest memory was the sight of my elderly but burly Grandpa weeping. And the warmth I felt when the sobbing Grandpa embraced me.
「Noel, what a pitiful child… But you still have me. I will never let you be alone. I… if it"s me, I won"t die no matter what happens! I swear on my name Over Death!」
(TN: remember that Over Death is written with the kanji of Immortal Demon(´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀) )
Mum and Dad had pa.s.sed away in a carriage accident before I was old enough to understand what was going on around me.
It was gossiped that it was a curse from a Beast. That Grandpa had killed too many Beasts and the curse doomed his family to die young.
Of course, Grandpa did not let those people off lightly. Though he held back as to not kill them, no matter who it was, his iron fists pummeled them.
Then, without fail, he would say his catchphrase.
「As a man, you can"t let yourself be looked down upon. You must absolutely protect your family"s honor」
I remember Grandpa saying this the night he had gone totally wild in homes of the brats who had been picking on me and saying I was a cursed child.
Grandpa often told me stories from his active period as a Seeker. The Grandpa who flourished in those stories, together with his allies, were my heroes.
Growing up with those stories, it was only natural that I would admire Seekers.
「Noel, your appearance is just like your deceased Mum. But I can tell, unlike your Mum who did not have it, you have the talent to be a Seeker just like me sleeping inside you」
Just like Grandpa said, at my Job appraisal at age ten, I was found to have a combat type Job.
But that Job was one that was very different from what I had hoped for.
Talker – a Job that was specialized in supporting the party.
Through speaking words which grants buffs to others, the role of a Talker Job is to raise the overall battle abilities of the party. It"s what is called a Buffer.
Truthfully, if only I was a Warrior. Not just because it would be the same Job as Grandpa, but it is a Job that is proficient in both attack and defense and provides a stable strength.
In contrast, for Buffer Jobs like Talker, while their buffs are excellent, their own combat ability is the worst among all combat type Jobs. Not only do they have to rely on their party to do the fighting, they can"t even protect themselves properly. It"s a peaky and defective Job.
Even if you have a Tank who can manage hate, a Seeker who can"t defend himself is a fatal flaw. Within the Seeker community, Buffers are often laughed at as being the weakest Job.
Good grief, it makes me want to cry.
Grandpa gave a hearty laugh and patted my crestfallen head.
「Gahahaha! Don"t cry Noel! Be it Talker or whatever, I will raise you to become the best Seeker! Trust me!」
I had no doubt in Grandpa, a Hero. Trusting the words of my respected Grandpa, I began my training as a Seeker.
And so the training that began was mercilessly harsh. The always gentle Grandpa who had accompanied me to the toilet at night because I was afraid of ghosts had totally disappeared.
The one in front of the Seeker apprentice that I was, was the demon instructor feared by his peers in the past as the big shot Seeker called Over Death.
「Stand up, Noel! Beasts won"t wait for you! No matter how much wounds you take, stand up immediately with your fighting spirit! For how long do you intend to sleep? You stupid disciple!」
The number of times he sent the wounded and collapsed me flying with a kick isn"t just once or twice. With the harsh training from morning till night imposed upon me, I puked every day initially and peed blood numerous times.
But no matter the suffering, I trusted Grandpa and could feel the deep love in the harsh training.
It"s just like Grandpa said. Beasts won"t overlook my inabilities. If I slack off on training and stay as weak as I am, even if I become a Seeker, I"ll just die soon after.
That"s why Grandpa, who did not want me to die, frantically taught me the fighting methods of a Talker, and I desperately tried to learn them.
And so, four years pa.s.sed since the start of my training. Grandpa"s teachings were fruitful, my heart, technique and physique were polished up and I was far stronger than before the training.
If this continues, even with the problematic Job of Talker, I"ll definitely become a great Seeker that doesn"t lose to Grandpa.
However, to be approved as a Seeker by the country, I have to be 15 years old and recognized as an adult first. Hence I continued my training under Grandpa and waited patiently for that day to arrive.
That incident, it happened around this time–
「Do you hear me, Noel! You must never come out from there!」
Grandpa, who had always exuded a manly air of composure, with a ghastly expression that I"ve never seen before, crammed me and the servants into the underground shelter.
That night, all of a sudden, the town we lived in had turned into an Abyss.
Turning into an Abyss occurs when the mana density in the atmosphere reaches a certain level. Because of that, human habitats perform periodic ceremonies to disperse the mana, but for some reason the ceremony did not go well, resulting in a sudden, large back-flow.
What"s more, when Grandpa used his measuring instrument to investigate, the depth of the Abyss was found to be at the danger level of 12 out of 13. The deeper the connection between the Abyss and Void, the more dangerous it is, and the stronger the Beasts that appear in our world are.
In other words, our town had become a top cla.s.s disaster area. Even a Seeker apprentice like myself did not doubt that the Beast that served as the core of this Abyss, was what Seekers called a「Lord」(Maou or Demon King).
There was no sign of the town we were familiar with, only a burning h.e.l.l expanding as far as we could see. And an odious red moon shining in the sky. From within the Abyss, the moon appears red because of the mana in the atmosphere.
In this ominous s.p.a.ce, you could hear the Beasts howl in ecstasy and the echoes of the agonizing cries of their prey.
「Don"t worry, Grandpa will lay his life on the line to protect you」
With his gear fully equipped, Grandpa flashed an encouraging smile, went out alone and closed the shelter doors from the outside, ignoring my cries to stop him.
The Abyss had expanded throughout the surrounding area, and trying to bring me and the servants out from within was difficult, even for Grandpa. Also, even if everyone hid and waited in the shelter, a swift rescue was very unlikely.
In that case, Grandpa decided that the chances of being saved was higher if he took out the Beast that was the core while he still had stamina.
Before long, it was the death cries of the Beasts that could now be heard. It was probably impossible to tell if the cries were made by one or two hundred of them. They were the proof that Grandpa"s battle axe was cutting a swath through the Beasts. However, my uneasiness only grew bigger and bigger.
I wondered just how many Beasts had appeared in our world…
And I feared, from the bottom of my heart, the strength of the Lord that controlled them.
Gradually, the death cries of the Beasts died down and in its place, unbelievably fierce battle sounds resounded loudly.
The battle between Grandpa and the Lord had began.
The sounds of the battle that had lasted for hours, stopped cleanly in an instant. And the ominous air peculiar to an Abyss started to clear.
Believing in Grandpa"s victory, I dashed out of the underground shelter.
The sun had already risen outside. The surrounding area had become a scorched plain, with the corpses of humans and Beasts littered all over.
Looking for Grandpa, I ran around the ruined town.
And then, I spotted it.
The collapsed, blood stained figure of Grandpa who had lost his lower body and right arm.
To me, who had ran over and carried his body into my arms, Grandpa weakly gave a wide smile.
「…looks like I can"t win against my age. What a laugh to be called Over Death…」
I could do nothing but cry. I cried like I was trying to empty my body of every drop of water. With his remaining hand, Grandpa gently patted my head.
「Noel is such a crybaby. Just like Grandpa」
Grandpa looked away from me and a worried expression crossed his face.
「…this is the end of the road of a Seeker. As long as you are fighting for a living, you are always walking alongside death. Noel, even so, are you still aiming to be a Seeker? To walk the same path as this senile fool?」
I sucked up my snort and wiped my tears. And, with a wide smile like Grandpa"s, I nodded my head vigorously.
The truth was that I was scared to death. I didn"t even have the composure to smile. I clung tightly to Grandpa and wanted to cry out loud for him to not die, for him to not leave me all alone.
But I didn"t want to let Grandpa see such a weak side of me.
Like how strong you were, your grandson is just as strong. I wanted him to have that peace of mind.
Not a thing… Because I had not yet repaid any of my debt to him at all…
「…I see. Then, become a Seeker that will never lose. Become a man that will never bring shame to our Stollen name. That is my wish」
Grandpa looked me in the face and patted my head again.
「Noel, can you promise Grandpa that?」
「…I promise. I will become the strongest Seeker」
「Hahaha, that… that"s my grandson… Noel… Even if… you can"t… keep that… promise… I will… always… love… you…」
And so, my greatest hero, closed his eyes peacefully in my arms.
Two years after that, having inherited my esteemed Grandpa"s will, I — Noel Stollen am now, living in the imperial capital as a Seeker.
TN Afterword:
Did the onion chopping ninjas get anyone? They sure got me, maybe my ducts are getting loose with age.
On another note, the last name of the MC is finally revealed near the end, in the middle of a death scene even, and it turns out to be a type of bread. ＿￣○
Of course the romanji is shutoren and I could have translated the spelling any number of ways but go ahead and google シュトーレン and see what"s the first result. （；￣ェ￣）
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