Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village (Manga)

When the civilizations of yesteryear fade from memory and become fanciful fantasy, the only evidence of their existence...are books. Ash, a young boy living in a remote farming village, holds a secret—he possesses memories of a distant and more bountiful past life. Days of toiling in the fields have given rise to a burning desire: to bring more enjoyment to the everyday doldrum of his dreary present day! And while books may be the answer, Ash...can’t actually read! But where there is a will, there is a way. Join Ash as he battles illiteracy and sets his sights on a better life!

A youth named Ash has memories of a previous, more bountiful life. Eager to bask in all the splendor of yore, Ash dives into the world of books, uncovering past conveniences one at a time. What’s Ash to do when he gets stranded during the wild herb forage? For one, he doesn’t panic! Instead, he turns his misfortune around when he discovers a plant that can revolutionize Noscula village! Ash knows that if he plays it smart, he could earn enough money to really start improving the village... But will everything go as smoothly as Ash expects? As he hatches a plan to lift the village out of poverty and usher in a golden era, unforeseen problems lurk around every corner. Rebuilding civilization doesn’t come without its fair share of difficulty!

So long as hope is there to light the way, the world will never stop turning. However, for a small farming village, winter is the season of death. Ash, a boy who is trying to recover pieces of a lost civilization by deciphering ancient texts, has finally resurrected the art of beekeeping. His next ambition is to bring back medicine that reduces fevers in order to take the life-threatening danger out of the common cold, the sickness that stole away his friend. However, as his research proceeds, he learns that using the medicine isn’t without risk. To make matters worse, Maika has just come down with a fever. The village trembles at the threat of winter, but will this unraveled wisdom from the past help to eliminate their fears forever?

With newfound determination in his heart, a boy flies free, leaving behind the nest of his hometown. To start things off, Ash finds himself face-to-face with a hungry bear descended from the mountains! He barely scrapes a victory, but is also seriously injured. Wandering between the borders of life and death, he is saved by none other than the ancient wisdom that he himself deciphered and revived for his friends. However, finding that he is nearing the limits of what he can learn and accomplish in the village, Ash decides to go study abroad in the local capital. Thus, a new chapter of his journey begins! The boy who made a bevy of miracles happen in a sleepy little farming village is about to take another giant step for mankind in the fourth volume of this civilization-building series!

After leaving his hometown and traveling to the local capital, Itsutsu, Ash is excited to be in a fresh environment where he can make new friends and discoveries. He swiftly gathers collaborators in the form of his roommate, a beautiful boy named Arthur who seems to be hiding some secrets, and an upright classmate named Reina, who’s the daughter of the Saculas’ head maid. Free from the confines of conventional wisdom and now flush with additional help, Ash makes great strides in his research even as he accomplishes feats that rally the people of Itsutsu to his side. What concepts will he resurrect this time, and how will they affect the lives of those around him...?

Now that Ash has completed his first few projects in Itsutsu, the time has come for him to tackle his next goal: creating an accurate world map. To get there, he’ll need to develop map-making tools, gather piles of data, and even calculate the width of the world. In the end, Arthur offers to helm the project, and with every successful step forward gains confidence and hope for the future. But just as things are looking up, Maika notices a shift in Ash and Arthur’s relationship that leaves her in an emotional tailspin. Will she be able to voice her feelings and solidify her place at Ash’s side? Or will she end up losing his heart to someone else...?

With the efforts to create an accurate world map finally paying off—and a newly confident Arthur ready to take charge—the time has come for Ash to turn his focus back to his laundry list of other projects. But just as he’s getting started, rumors of disorder in the slums reach his ears. The people are starving, and, left with no other choice, they’ve begun to resort to robbery to feed their families. Haunted by the memory of a childhood friend’s death, Ash resolves to launch a large-scale soup kitchen. But hunger waits for no man—not even for Ash. Will he be able to solve Itsutsu’s food distribution issues before everything comes crashing down?

With Sir George fallen, Ash is left alone to face off against the mighty werewolf that has awoken within Itsutsu. If he fails, countless townspeople will die—but it’s not long before his injuries begin to stack up. Still, he fights on, driven by a determination to live and realize not just his own dreams, but those of his many new friends. In the battle’s aftermath, Ash bonds with Hermes, a quiet, somewhat surly kid who also attends the Military Minors Association. As it turns out, the key to making Hermes open up is to get him talking about his life’s goal: constructing a flying machine. Remembering the airplanes that once soared high up in the air in his past life, Ash is enthused. And when his desire to build a better tomorrow and Hermes’s dream to fly through the sky collide, the flames of their passion light up a path to a promising future—one Ash is desperate to reach.