Chapter Appendix 5: Scylla race introduction + Interview with an evil god
Scylla
A race born when Vida, the goddess of love and life, mated with a monster (in truth, with Merrebeveil, the Evil God of Slime and Tentacles).
They are a unisexual race of only women, who possess the upper bodies of beautiful women and lower bodies with eight tentacles resembling those of octopuses.
Their upper bodies often look like those of humans with green-colored hair and eyes, but depending on their parents, there are cases where they resemble Elves, Dwarves, Dark Elves or Beast-people. In addition, if they possess Titan blood, their lower bodies become more enormous as well as their upper bodies.
But no matter what race their father is, they are always beautiful.
In most cases, their lower bodies have eight tentacles like octopuses, but there are occasional cases where they have nine or more tentacles. Also, legends say that the Scylla of the past had the heads of beasts such as wolves, snakes and dragons on the ends of their tentacles, but this has not been observed in the present day.
It is currently theorized that Bellwood and the other champions exterminated all of the mutant Scylla that existed back then, or that this is simply a fabrication by those who wanted to portray the Scylla as an evil race.
Perhaps due to the monster that is one of the Scylla race's parents, many Scylla possess affinities for the water and earth attributes, and there are also many who possess an affinity for the life attribute as well.
Because they possess the Water Adaptation, Night Vision and Superhuman Strength skills from birth, contrary to what their beautiful appearances may suggest, they are capable of becoming powerful warriors and mages. Also, many Scylla acquire the Ink Secretion and Enhanced Physical Ability (Lower body half) skills while spitting ink and using their lower bodies.
The roots of the lower body's tentacles contain their own sub-brains, allowing separate action from the upper body. Therefore, a high portion of Scylla individuals possess the Parallel Thought Processing skill compared to other races.
Incidentally, if the tentacles of the lower body are severed, as long as the Scylla receives good nutrition, they will regrow.
Their lifespans are as long as four hundred years; they grow at the same rate as humans up until their mid-teenage years, and after that, there are individual differences in aging, but upon reaching a certain age, their aging stops entirely. Scylla individuals are acknowledged as adults once they reach this point.
They have bright, cheerful personalities, but they often hold grudges if angered once. Although they are a unisexual, female-only race, they do not really have a female supremacist view. But since many believe that men are those who should be protected, it may feel like they hold such a view. Scylla themselves would say that this is simply how roles are divided.
There are no Scylla who have registered as adventurers in the Bahn Gaia continent, but when they do become adventurers, they have flexible qualities that make them suited for fighting both on the frontlines and from the back. However, it is said that they are not well-suited for being scouts. This is due to the fact that while they are able to perform well in open air and inside Dungeons that mimic open areas, the size of their lower bodies become an obstacle in confined human cities and Dungeons that mimic ruins.
However, in aquatic environments, they are likely the most powerful allies one can have after Mer-people.
Many ordinary Scylla become hunters, fishermen or farmers, and there are also many who are exceptional at dancing and singing as a part of their religion.
There are some craftsmen who make dyed fabrics with special dyes created by mixing the ink they secrete with materials such as plants, but the ones who actually do the work are often the husbands and sons of the Scylla.
Scylla are born with the qualities of a Rank 3 monster, and they are strong enough that new adventurers cannot face them on flat ground. Even ordinary hunters and fishermen are hard to hold down with several average soldiers.
They often build villages in marshlands, lakes and coastal areas. Small villages may be comprised of a single family, but the largest groups of Scylla are the five large villages, each with a thousand Scylla, located in the Sauron Duchy (currently occupied by the Amid Empire) in the Bahn Gaia continent.
But what they all have in common is that they do not completely distance themselves from other races; they build their villages relatively close to other races. This is because the Scylla are a unisexual race, so men of other races are required for reproduction.
However, they have long been persecuted as targets for extermination by nations and groups of people who are strongly influenced by the Church of Alda, so it is said that they have never formed a nation like the humans.
They were once feared for having an insatiable craving for human males, but this is not the case. They eat marine products, meat, vegetables, fruit and even grains. The Scylla that live in their own territory in the Sauron Duchy in particular have been cultivating rice for tens of thousands of years, and it is even said that their farming technology has surpassed that of humans.
They mainly worship Vida, her subordinate gods and Merrebeveil, who is said to have become the heroic goddess of the Scylla.
There aren't any races that treat them as an enemy as a whole, but they are very wary of believers of Alda, the god of law and fate, as they have a long history of being persecuted by these believers.
Their view on love is typical of Vida's races; they marry particular husbands, but their relationship is then cut off about ten years after their child is born. They cooperate while their child is still small, but after ten years, the child grows to some extent and no longer needs so much care, so there is no problem in the parents separating after that.
Of course, most married couples have feelings for each other even after ten years pass, and it is more common for couples to continue their married relationship after that.
Also, although it is called marriage, it is common for a single husband to be surrounded by multiple Scylla, and for a single Scylla to serve multiple husbands.
Though its origin is unknown, the Scylla have a peculiar marriage proposal ceremony where they make a courting display by dancing and singing with their upper bodies visible above water, and the marriage proposal is established when the man accepts by approaching the Scylla and calls out to her or embraces her.
Misunderstandings can easily arise from this marriage proposal ceremony; many men mistake the singing, dancing Scylla for drowning human women and try to save them, and this ceremony was often seen as the Scylla pretending to be drowning women and trying to make the men that try to rescue them drown.
The ceremony has become disused in the present day; it is now only performed by shrine maidens during religious ceremonies or by old-fashioned couples.
Scylla are fertile, and lay around three eggs on average in a single hatching. The eggs hatch after about a year, giving birth to new children.
The world that the Demon King Guduranis and his army came from
The Demon King Guduranis and the evil gods that were his subordinates appeared in Lambda during the age of the gods, but almost nothing is known about the world in which they originally existed.
This is because the Demon King's army is comprised of monsters created by the Demon King himself and his evil gods, so there is no way of learning this information without interviewing one of the evil gods.
Also, perhaps the Demon King and his evil gods didn't leave records in books or stone tablets, or perhaps they simply didn't possess the concept of leaving information behind in such ways. There are almost no documents that could be referred to.
Documents detailing the things that the champions saw and heard in the midst of battle and the items left behind by the Demon King and his subordinates after they arrived in this world make up the few research materials that are available.
It is said that there is a detailed document of words exchanged between evil gods and their high-ranking subordinates, directly heard by Zakkart, the champion of the goddess of life and love Vida, Solder, the champion of the goddess of water and knowledge Peria, Ark, the champion of the genie of time and magic Ricklent, and Hillwillow, the champion of Botin, mother of the earth and goddess of craftsmanship. However, it is unknown as to whether this document actually exists.
The information detailed below is a collection of the information that has been announced to date, considered to be from highly credible sources.
The name of the Demon King���s world
Unknown. The Demon King Guduranis and his evil gods referred to it using the words, "the world we were originally in." From this fact, it is thought that this world had no designated name.
At the same time, it has been deduced that the Demon King and his subordinates' journey to our world (Lambda) is the only time they crossed to another world.
If they had been to multiple other worlds, they would have likely given their own world an individual name, but if they didn't know of the existence of any other worlds, it would have been fine for them to simply refer to their world as "the world."
The Demon King's world
There is no information whatsoever regarding the Demon King's world itself in terms of geography, climate, wildlife, history or nations.
Due to this fact, it is thought that the Demon King and his evil gods did not possess a culture of passing information from generation to generation through written text or word of mouth.
However, it is not entirely shrouded in mystery. It is possible to make conjectures as to what kind of world it was from the forms of the Demon King and his evil gods, as well as the monsters that they created.
It is thought that their world had harsh environments that cannot be compared to this one, and though many monsters lived on their own, those of the same race likely formed groups in a world of carnage where all living things fought a fierce struggle for existence.
The gods of the Demon King's world
The identity of the one responsible for the creation of the Demon King's world is unknown. But considering the state of that world's gods, it is very different from this world.
The gods of the Demon King's world are "superior beings with strength that allows them to transcend regular living creatures." Once one became strong in the Demon King's world, they reached the state of being called a "god," and all beings who had reached such a state were known as gods.
It wasn't that they became gods because many worshipped them; it was because they became gods that they created followers who worshipped them.
The being who was most powerful among them were known as the Demon King, and it is thought that the Demon King Guduranis defeated the previous Demon King to become the Demon King.
The creatures of the Demon King's world
The natures of the creatures of the Demon King's world can be guessed from the monsters that the Demon King and his subordinates have created. It has been recorded that the monsters created by the Demon King's army in the early years of their arrival in Lambda were vastly different from the creatures that already existed in this world.
However, it is also recorded that because they were too different, they couldn't adapt to this world and went extinct within a short period of time.
According to these records, there was no coherence to these creatures, such as dragons, snakes and crocodiles with scales, creatures with tentacles or made entirely of tentacles, beasts with multiple heads and over five limbs, or with only a single limb.
It is said that many of these creatures had sinister appearances that would cause us to feel revulsion and fear towards them.
All of this information is nothing more than a collection of records of rumors and conjectures. However, seeing the statues worshipped by the believers of the evil gods that are squirming in the darkness in the present day, as well as the form of the few surviving early-age monsters, this information seems credible.
But the lifestyles, culture and values held by the creatures of the Demon King's world can be deduced in detail from the lifestyles of monsters.
This is because new subspecies and new races of monsters formed after the champions defeated the Demon King, but the lifestyles and culture of monsters have remained almost unchanged.
Does it not seem likely that in the Demon King's world, creatures gathered knowledge and trained their skills on an individual basis, with no culture of passing on information to the next generation or creating tools?
As proof of this, some monster races form groups and some even form primitive villages, but in general, the passing of knowledge and skills from parent to child is poor.
It is easy to understand if one takes Goblins and Orcs as an example. They create the next generation by producing many offspring, and the superior individuals among them independently observe and steal knowledge and skills from adults in the group in order to learn. Incidents of individuals with dispositions to become mages being taken as apprentices have been reported at the Adventurers' Guild, but these are rare cases.
Their creation of tools is even poorer. Many individuals simply swing appropriately-sized tree branches as clubs, and these monsters largely rely on plundering equipment from their victims. There are some individuals who create spears, bows and arrows, but the majority of them only use these for themselves or offer them to their superiors; they do not distribute them to the entire group or teach other individuals the process of creating these weapons.
Monsters such as Lizardmen and Noble Orcs, which are considered to be more intelligent, train their children and distribute equipment among their entire groups, but considering monsters as a whole, these races are in the minority.
Considering these facts, it is thought that the creatures of the Demon King's world did not possess the culture… the concept of using tools, and they used what they were capable of with their bodies and the magic that they had mastered in order to deal with all situations.
Also, it is thought that they did not possess the ability to farm, and instead depended on hunting and gathering… living lifestyles similar to beasts.
However, it is said that they might have bred members of inferior races as livestock and used them for manual labor or as a source of food as necessary.
Vandalieu closed the old book and asked Fidirg, the Dragon God of Five Sins, a question.
"That's what it says in this book, but how much of it is true?"
"It is largely factual."
"But to be discussing us for tens of thousands of years…"
"Humans are really interested in us, ain't they?"
Fidirg, who had slumbered for tens of thousands of years after the war between Vida and Alda and awoken to find himself separated and isolated from human society by the Boundary Mountain Range, was exasperated by the curiosity of humans.
However, it wasn't a bad thing that humans had an interest in these matters. Their feelings of awe were similar to worship, too… though no matter how much the Demon King's army of the past was feared, it meant nothing to him as no records of Fidirg's existence remained in historical records.
"I was also a member of a race known as ■■■■■."
"In this world, I believe they are called Experience Points? Well, I ate a lot of them and became a god."
"Ah, you can't make it out, can you? It doesn't exist in this world's words, so pardon me."
Those were hard times, Fidirg thought with a distant look in his eyes.
"And that's how I began calling myself the 'Dragon God of Five Sins.'"
"Incidentally, there are evil gods with similar names, and it means that they were originally of similar races."
"Maybe like a cheetah or tiger? They might be completely different, but in that world, those kinds of differences are nothing at all."
The gods of the Demon King's world didn't need to gather believers and propagate their religion in the normal sense. The members of the race that they originated from would simply become their believers. If there weren't any, they simply needed to create some, and if there were any inconveniences arising from two gods having similar names, they would simply kill one another.
This was why, although Vandalieu was unaware of it, gods with similar names came to exist, such as the Evil God of the Magic Tome and the Evil God of Foreign Writings*.
TLN*: They are more similar in Japanese than in English; they share a kanji.
"Well, it was a real shock when we came to this world."
"Most of the creatures here only have one head, and there are almost none with tentacles. Ah, but there were quite a lot with scales, so I still felt alright."
"The tentacle gods like Merrebeveil-san were really surprised."
Fidirg's heads all expressed the surprise he felt when he first came to Lambda. It seemed that from his point of view, Lambda was the more bizarre world.
"If that's how you felt, why did you accept Zakkart's proposal?" Vandalieu asked. "I know that you didn't like the Demon King, but from your perspective, it must have seemed like a suspicious proposal made by an unfamiliar creature."
Despite everything, Fidirg and others had accepted Zakkart's proposal and joined Lambda's side. Hearing this story, Vandalieu had to question what made them want to even begin communicating in the first place.
Had Zakkart possessed some kind of special negotiation technique?
"Ah, that was good timing. Bellwood and the others had come out, and although the Demon King's army was in the superior position overall, the small-scale defeats were occurring more frequently…"
"Also, the monsters we'd created had started stealing arms from the humans and using them for themselves…"
"It was a time where we saw this world in a different light. I ordered the Lizardmen to use the arms created by humans as a reference to make their own, too."
And so, one of the champions had come to meet them for something other than battle, and because this was an unusual event, they heard him out and found his offer attractive.
It wasn't clear whether it was mere coincidence or whether Zakkart had chosen the right timing, but… if it was the latter, then perhaps Zakkart had been one with an eye for strategy.
"By the way, from our point of view, it is strange that you didn't make tools. Why didn't you make tools while you were in the Demon King's world?" Vandalieu asked.
From the perspective of Vandalieu, who had learned in school the process by which civilization had developed on Earth, it was quite strange that intelligent life would have a culture without tools. But Fidirg's response to this was quite easy to understand.
"Ah, we were also asked this by Solder and Ark."
"Our world had materials such as trees and rocks as well, but…"
"Those materials are far weaker than the skin or fangs of anyone with a bit of strength, so we didn't need to use them. We had magic, too."
It seemed that special metals that existed in Lambda, such as Mythril, Adamantite and Orichalcum, hadn't existed in the world the Demon King had come from.
In reality, it might have existed, but in order to discover and make use of it, the technology to mine and refine ores would need to exist, and it was unlikely that anyone had had the time to develop this technology.
Creatures that had no need for stone tools wouldn't suddenly develop the technology to refine and process copper and iron.
"That's how it was, so the situation was that only weak, inferior creatures used tools. Because of this, using tools was proof of being livestock to be used as food for superior beings."
"There were races that made tools, though they were weak. But the Demon King decided to leave behind everyone that wasn't a god, so he didn't bring them here."
"And that's why we looked down on the humans of this world, who used arms to fight. But then we were divided into those who were defeated by the champions and those like me who changed our way of thinking."
It seemed that the Demon King's army had also learned from experience after coming to Lambda, but few of them had changed their sense of values.
"Well, no matter what, monsters' technology will never catch up to the technology of humans."
"Even among us gods, the ones who used weapons and armor were in the minority."
"Humans can't be underestimated, after all."
"… I've come to see the Demon King's army in a new light," said Vandalieu.
According to Fidirg, most of the gods who had zealously made their monsters create tools had accepted Zakkart's proposal and changed sides like he had.
Fidirg was the creator of the Lizardmen. They had been stolen away at some point by Luvesfol, the Raging Evil Dragon God, but the Lizardmen created by Fidirg in the marshlands created and used arms that were not inferior even to those used by human soldiers.
And Merrebeveil, one of the parents of the Scylla, had made them develop advanced farming technology.
If Zakkart hadn't made Fidirg and the others change sides, this world might have been defeated by the Demon King, Vandalieu thought.
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Chapter 119: The man who sends the king flying
Volume 6: Reincarnator Uprising
A lone young man stood on the dry ground, completely still, holding a spear. There was nobody in his surroundings, and he was isolated from the outside world by fifty-meter-tall walls in all directions.
This place was just like an arena.
I've committed countless crimes, apparently.
The young man recalled his somewhat hazy memories. At first, he'd simply wanted to eat until his stomach was satisfied. For that reason, he had headed for the Adventurers' Guild with a spear in his hand.
He gained knowledge as an adventurer while cleaning the town and carrying luggage for his adventurer senpais. He learned the basics of using a spear from one of the kind adventurer senpais.
When he accepted his first extermination request, the weapon in his hand was a cheap, worn-out spear passed onto him by that adventurer senpai.
Though this wasn't an unusual story for an adventurer, the first person he killed was a bandit. This occurred during the extermination request that he had accepted as his D-class promotion examination.
He remained calm up to the point he thrust his spear into a gap in the bandit's tattered leather armor, ending his life. But before he knew it, he was crouched over the ground, throwing up.
He and the other adventurers who were taking the examination with him comforted each other, and they decided to form a party.
He had the feeling that time had gone by quickly after that.
He was certain that he'd struggled with requests to exterminate Orcs and Lizardmen, but before he'd known it, he'd been exterminating Wyverns and Ghoul Barbarians, and even become able to slay a Goblin King.
His spear was replaced by a Magic Item at some point, and that one was replaced by one with a Mythril tip.
He became an A-class adventurer, slaying higher-Rank Dragons, Vampires, the chief of a Centaur tribe who called themselves a resistance and laid waste to the nation, and a Lamia Queen who had been worshipping an evil god in the depths of a Devil's Nest.
Perhaps it was around then that he took up the Legendary-class Artifact, Ice Age, and became known by the Title, 'Divine Spear of Ice.'
Back then, had I stopped being an adventurer? I get the feeling that carrying out justice as a disciple of Alda, the god of law and fate, and Yupeon, the god of ice, had become my objective.
And then he participated in the fierce battle between his homeland, the Mirg shield-nation, and Talosheim. He defeated the Titans standing in his way, one after another. He severed their arms, and when they had no arms left, he thrust his spear into their necks. Whether those standing before him were boys that were no more than children, the wrinkled elderly or women, he slew them indiscriminately.
And then he parted ways with his companions and barged into the royal castle, and while he was searching for the underground area where the evil magical apparatus created by the deranged goddess Vida had been sealed…
"Yo, it's been a while," said a deep voice that sounded like boulders being mashed together, bringing the young man… Mikhail, back to reality.
In his field of vision, there was a Titan whose face he had no memory of. It was a particularly large Titan man, and half of his face was comprised only of bone.
It's been a while? Who is this?
Mikhail couldn't remember. Since the Titan had said, "It's been a while," they had likely met before. Mikhail was probably the one who had killed him.
But he couldn't remember.
However, Mikhail's body began moving to fulfil the role that it had been given, leaving his consciousness behind.
"Please prepare yourself. The training will begin," Mikhail said.
A sturdy Obsidian spear and a sturdy suit of Obsidian armor. The armor had been directly attached to Mikhail's body and fastened with rivets, replacing his skin.
Compared to the equipment he had worn while alive, it was much more difficult to move in, and it was also less sturdy. The only thing this equipment surpassed his old equipment in was the weight.
This was the equipment that Vandalieu had given Mikhail, thinking that this was more than enough equipment for a practice dummy.
"Has it been more than a month since you were put here? During that time, I've spent quite some time telling the kid what I think. Though I don't think you have any, I went on and on about a warrior's pride, and about how showing contempt for my enemy like this would only cast doubts on my tolerance. Troublesome, tedious things that were quite unlike me to say," the man said as he released an enormous black sword from its sheath.
Though both weapons were black, Mikhail knew that this sword was on a completely different level from the spear that he was holding.
It is made of a fragment of the Demon King, just like the pieces of flesh that are embedded in my body.
Vandalieu had buried numerous fingertip-sized pieces of the Demon King's carapace inside Mikhail's body.
While Mikhail was alive, he had been a devout believer of Alda and wielded an Artifact that contained Yupeon's spirit clone. The pieces of the Demon King's carapace were there to explode inside and destroy Mikhail's soul in the event these gods tried something or something caused Mikhail to regain his sanity.
Vandalieu had taken the effort to tear up Mikhail's flesh, turn him into an Undead and fill him with the carapace.
I suppose the fact that this man is holding a weapon made of that fragment means that he is trusted by that person.
Mikhail's mind was filled with feelings of envy towards the man and despair at the fact that he wasn't the one standing where the man was standing.
But it seemed that the man's mind was filled with something else.
"Most of the people of the city have been revived; they're enjoying themselves, drinking, eating fish with mayonnaise on it, playing shogi and Reversi. That Nuaza kid is happily making stone statues. I was able to meet my orphaned child, Gopher, and my grandchildren, too. Levia-sama, and more recently, Jeena and Zandia-jouchan have come back as well," the man said, thrusting his enormous sword into the ground. And then he took up an Obsidian training sword instead.
It was about the same size as the other sword, but it was nothing more than a bladeless, sturdy lump of metal in the shape of a sword.
However, the hatred being released by the man was real.
"You're pitiful compared to them," the man growled. "You truly have nothing ahead of you. Even my feelings of hatred for you would disappear… that's what I mistakenly thought!"
Being completely bathed in the man's anger, something pulled at Mikhail's memory.
Jeena. And Zandia… These are names that I've heard numerous times. Ah, that's right…
They were the ones taken by the Vampires after death, just like Mikhail had been. The memory was faint, but he remembered it. The Titan woman and girl whose resolves had remained steadfast despite their anger and sorrow over the defeat of their companions.
Then this man is the one I defeated first back then -
"If I hadn't been killed by you, I'd never have met the kid and the others! But because you guys attacked us, everyone suffered for two hundred years! It's my fault for being defeated! It's our fault! I'm not going to deny that! That's why… I'm only going to knock you down once!"
With a beast-like roar, the man… Borkus, charged forward.
He's fast?!
"The training will begin," Mikhail declared to Borkus in a mechanical voice as he broke into a run, unable to express his discomposure.
The speed and fluidity of his movement was astonishing for a Zombie.
But Borkus's movement was faster, and he possessed vigor and power.
Mikhail deflected the first blow with his spear, and as he tried to unleash a counterattack, the sword that he had deflected returned to repel his spear in return.
So, he has become far stronger than back then?
Both weapons were mere training weapons, with their sturdiness being their only notable quality. No Magic Items or martial skills were used. And so, Borkus and Mikhail's strength competed against each other.
Borkus, who had grown stronger than when he was alive, and Mikhail, who had grown weaker than when he was alive.
And most importantly, their mental conditions were different.
Gradually, Mikhail's spear became unable to deal with Borkus's attacks, and the openings for Mikhail to attack disappeared. The sword started grazing him, and Mikhail's armor and ears were pulled and torn into pieces.
After the hundredth blow, Mikhail's spear shattered, and Mikhail himself flew through the air like a broken mannequin and crashed uselessly into the ground.
Spectacular. If martial skills were used and it turned into a good, real battle, it would have been settled more quickly, Mikhail thought as he gazed helplessly at the sky, not a single unbroken bone left in his body. What would his Rank be now? I am Rank 10, so he must be greater than that.
Mikhail wanted to see Borkus one more time, but he heard a voice saying, "Tch, I'm out." It seemed that this wish wouldn't be granted.
Mikhail's consciousness vanished.
And then he suddenly awoke.
My restoration is complete.
After having been completely destroyed, Mikhail's corpse returned to normal and was revived as a Zombie as it had done countless times before.
Vandalieu had adjusted Mikhail to be an Undead for training use. When he was destroyed, the Magic Item installed in the training grounds would drag his spirit back and automatically revive him as a Zombie.
The wounds in his flesh and the deformations in his armor was repaired and he returned to normal.
And then he would be used for training until he broke again.
This was the most effective way to make use of Mikhail that Vandalieu had been able to think of.
Vandalieu had no intention of letting Mikhail, a sworn enemy of Talosheim, join his allies, and couldn't do so even if he wanted to.
However, although Mikhail was unable to display his true ability due to Gubamon's adjustments, he was Rank 10, so he was valuable.
Thus, he would be used for training and as a source of Experience Points. He would likely become unusable after several dozen or several hundred uses, but if his soul was destroyed once this happened, no miracle would allow him to be sent to Alda.
I was simply born in a nation that treated the persecution of Vida's races as justice, believed in a god who treated it as justice, lived as an adventurer in that nation and fought as a hero. It's just that this is a sin in the eyes of that person.
This was only natural since Vandalieu, the one Mikhail called "that person," was the 'Holy Son of Vida.'
Mikhail would not even be given an opportunity to atone.
Then I shall at least fulfil my role as a training dummy until the end. If my wish of fighting for that person cannot be granted, then I shall become nourishment for those who fight for him. Either way, I am already unable to do anything else.
Borkus had already left the training grounds; only the mark in the ground where he had thrust his sword into it remained.
However, the next person would come for training soon. Mikhail would fight that person, and if he won, the match would end there, and if he lost and was destroyed, he would enter a momentary slumber.
That process would repeat itself over and over. Until the moment his soul was broken.
There was a low groan.
The next opponent had come. Mikhail raised his spear.
"Please prepare yourself. The training will begin."
Mikhail felt a sense of déjà vu at the sight of this grotesque female Zombie that he had never seen before.
"Be… gin!"
Before Mikhail could figure out the identity of the female Zombie… Rapiéçage, the Patchwork Zombie made by sewing together Mikhail's former companions, curled her enormous fists and charged towards him.
Iris Bearheart, the leader of the resistance organization known as the Sauron Liberation Front, made a declaration to her companions who had gathered before her.
"The detached force led by Debis should be headed for the distant third base about now. The other units are retreating, too. In other words, we cannot expect reinforcements. We will be making an isolated struggle here with this mountainous area as our camping grounds."
This was bad news, but her companions waited for her next words without showing any signs of agitation.
"According to our spies that have infiltrated the enemy army, the extermination force that has been dispatched outnumber us five to one. Right now, they are likely split into three directions and are closing in on us while destroying any path we could possibly take to escape."
The situation was not just bad; it was downright hopeless. Iris's companions… the former fake resistance members, Haj and his group, showed unrest for the first time.
"No way… in other words, they've fallen into our trap!"
"So many prey, it's just like training in the Dungeons!"
"… It's our first time fighting people isn't it? I wonder how it will feel. Ufufu."
Iris looked at Haj and the others, who simply looked like a group of evil berserkers, and gave a bitter smile as she reminded them of something. "I'm happy you're so full of fighting spirit, but don't kill the ones who have surrendered," she said. "I want information, after all."
"But Leader, if they're too weak -" a man began.
"I've said before that those who disobey orders will have their pay reduced," Iris said firmly.
The man hastily fell silent. It seemed that even the berserkers preferred the scent of spices, which was more fragrant than that of blood.
"Liberating Princess Knight of the Sauron Liberation Front! We have you surrounded! Make an honorable surrender! If you yield, I will guarantee your safety!"
The order to surrender from the extermination force, who had apparently completed their encirclement, echoed out. The voice was likely being amplified by wind-attribute magic or a Magic Item.
Iris and her companions couldn't hold back their laughter.
"They say they guarantee our safety. What do you think?"
"Let's see… I suppose we'll all be gathered in one place and hanged together?"
"After they question and torture Leader and then have her raped by the soldiers for days, they'll drag her around the town and execute her publicly, won't they?"
"No, isn't this the pattern of events where they treat you like a plaything but let you live?"
"Don't be foolish. There's no way they'll be that soft. That might happen if she were the princess of a nation or the wife or daughter of an important noble family, but Leader isn't anything like that."
"You're right. I agree," said Iris, the corners of her mouth rising as she considered the pessimistic predictions of Haj and his group. "Well then, we will commence battle as planned."
Haj and his group immediately scattered and ran into position. Iris drew her beloved sword and began running as well.
"I am leaving, Father."
"… Iiiris…"
The extermination force had no doubt that they would be victorious.
The Sauron Liberation Front had absorbed the resistance members left behind by Raymond Paris, the deceased leader of the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army, and they had been more active in conducting anti-government movements.
However, the core members of the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army had all previously been exterminated by Mardock, the leader of the resistance extermination force. All of the former knights had been annihilated, and only those with poor fighting abilities had joined the Sauron Liberation Front.
And thanks to the reformed extermination force, the Liberating Princess Knight was now isolated and helpless, along with only a few troops. They were outnumbered five to one; she was like a cornered rat.
"But sometimes, the rat bites the cat. Don't let your guard down," the knight in command warned his subordinates, but soon reconsidered, thinking that this was an overestimation of their enemy.
This was because the resistance members had come out towards his subordinates who were encircling them. Their movements were strangely quick despite them being completely clad in metal armor, but what was there to fear about heavy infantrymen who were coming to attack of their own will, one by one?
"Commander, it seems that they have become desperate," said the commander's aide.
The commander internally agreed with the aide's words, but he gave orders in a strict voice so that his subordinates wouldn't lose their focus. "Don't let your guard down! This might be a ploy to use themselves as bait for the Princess Knight to escape! Shield-bearers at the front, slow the enemy down! Archers and mages, finish them off!"
This extermination force that had been reformed by the empire's army possessed a high level of training and quality equipment. The shield-bearers carried out their orders and thrust their shields out towards the resistance members, Haj and his group, as they closed in.
"Stone Wall! Stone Form! Provocation!"
They activated three consecutive martial skills of Shield Technique and Armor Technique. Their defensive power grew two-fold, and forcibly drew their enemies' attention towards them.
Behind them, the archers were aiming at the gaps in their targets' armor, and the mages were reciting incantations.
Within the next ten seconds, the resistance members that were letting out rousing war cries would be falling, one by one.
"Let's go, Partner! Precipice!" shouted one of the resistance members.
"UOOOOOOOH!" the rest of them roared.
That expectation was shattered when a shield-bearer received a single halberd attack from one of the resistance members.
"I-it's heavy! GUAAAH!"
The shield-bearer's shield was split and his armor couldn't withstand the attack; he fell back with blood spurting from his arm.
Without a moment's delay, one of the troops behind him stepped forward to take his place and fill the gap. But the new soldier's head was filled with astonishment.
Impossible! If a martial skill of the same quality is used by two people with the same skill level, the defensive one is supposed to come out ahead!
This was common knowledge. Of course, things were different if the quality of equipment differed, but something like this couldn't happen unless that difference was very great.
And from this soldier's point of view, the skill of the resistance member wasn't bad, but the halberd of his prey didn't look like a product of a quality that was clearly superior to the weapons he and his companions were armed with.
"Together, Partner! Triple Charge!" the resistance member shouted.
In reality, the tip of the halberd pierced the soldier's arm right through his immediately-raised shield, and he was covered in his own blood. And though he knew that he shouldn't let go of his shield, his shield fell out of his hand and the halberd was thrust once more through the now-empty space.
Who is the one he's calling 'Partner?' wondered the soldier as he gazed at the lone resistance member, the halberd's tip embedded in his throat, and then he died.
Similar events were occurring all over the battlefield at the same time.
"Switch to attacking! Archers, mages, attack in order!" shouted the commander, hastily changing the plan to attacking after realizing that the resistance members' offensive power far surpassed his troops' defense.
And the troops of the extermination force quickly obeyed these orders, setting aside their discomposure at seeing their companions defeated, showing that they were exceptional individuals who deserved to be known as the elite.
However, the resistance members took no notice of this.
They knocked down the knights attacking them with the exchange of just a few blows before driving in lethal attacks. Even though the archers and mages were finding openings to fire arrows and spells, they showed no signs of having taken any damage at all.
"Hah! They're nothing special!" Haj shouted.
"Behind you," said a voice echoing inside his helmet.
Reflexively obeying the voice, Haj thrust the handle of his halberd out behind him, causing the light infantryman who had been trying to attack him from behind hastily jump out of the way.
"You saved me, Partner."
"Thank me after you've finished killing them."
The partners of Haj and the other resistance members were the suits of armor that they were wearing… the Living Armors.
Datara and his team of blacksmiths had forged suits of Dark Copper armor and Vandalieu had used Golem Transmutation to plate them with iron, disguising them as suits of iron armor. He'd then had spirits possess them to create Living Armors, and Haj and his group were now wearing them.
This not only provided Haj and the others with improved defense, but by coordinating their movements with those of the Living Armors, who possessed the Superhuman Strength skill, they could exert strength far beyond their own physical capabilities.
And while they were fighting, the Living Armors were watching their surroundings. Haj and the others had no blind spots.
They had undergone the same training as the ordinary citizens of Talosheim, but both they and their Living Armors had acquired the Coordination skill. Due to this skill's effect, they were able to exhibit 120% of their ordinary strength.
"Commander, at this rate…!" the commander's aide muttered.
"Don't panic! Rebuild our formations properly! The enemy has no mages; join the unit together… is that the Princess Knight?!"
As the commander shouted at his aide, he suddenly saw Iris, who was cutting her way towards him.
He was astonished that the Princess Knight would personally expose herself on the frontlines, but what had caught his attention were her movements. She was avoiding the swords and arrows of the extermination force with defensive movements that looked like a dance, but the ground behind her was littered with fallen troops who'd been stabbed and slashed through the gaps in their armor.
The commander had seen these movements before. "This is Lord Bearheart's… could it be, the Princess Knight is his daughter!��
The feared knight who had once defeated numerous soldiers and knights in a battle between the Amid Empire and the Sauron Duchy, George Bearheart. Iris's movements resembled his.
"Flying Charge!"
A knight was holding up an enormous shield in defense, but the thrust of Iris's Swordsmanship martial skill found a tiny gap in his defense and her blade buried itself deep in his helmet.
And then she cut through the large opening left by the knight, deflected the sword of the astonished, wide-eyed commander and slashed the artery in his armpit.
"GUAAAAH!"
"Spreading your soldiers so thin to surround us was a mistake," Iris murmured. "Your commander has fallen! We will now be fighting to exterminate you all! If you want to live, throw your weapons away!" she declared, stepping on the arm of the commander who had fallen onto the ground in shock.
The commander's aide reflexively swung his sword at her, but he was cut down in a single strike.
Having lost their commander and vice-commander, the troops of extermination force lost their will to fight and threw their weapons aside one by one.
"Well done… Iris…"
"Yes. It's all because of you, Father," Iris whispered to her father who resided in her narrow sword that glowed with a sinister light as she sheathed it.
Iris Bearheart who wielded a sword that had become a cursed weapon, having acquired the Cursed Spirit Swordsman Job, leading Haj and the others who had become the first people in Lambda to acquire the Armor Tamer Job.
Their activities caused the Amid Empire's army occupying the Sauron Duchy to tremble.
Around the same time, Vandalieu was training in the Shield Technique and Armor Technique skills.
He was training hard with a shield that Tarea had made by combining the Demon King's carapace and the Demon King's horns, large enough to cover the majority of his body, and the liquid Dark Copper armor that he used when he fought Bellmond the first time.
"… It's very plain, isn't it."
Vandalieu had gone through other types of training without complaining, but this training was so dull that he whispered this complaint.
First, he was simply walking, running, flying, crawling (moving forward by crawling), over and over, while fully equipped.
"It can't be helped, can it? You're training in the techniques of using a shield and armor," said Kasim with a bitter smile. He was a former adventurer of a cultivation village in the Hartner Duchy, and he had come to act as Vandalieu's instructor.
"That's right. Weapon skills like Swordsmanship and Spear Technique can be learned by practicing attacks, but that doesn't work for shields and armor, so it can't be helped," added Eleanora, the red-haired Vampire woman who called herself Vandalieu's servant.
Attack and defense. It didn't need much thought to know which was more important. However, when it came to learning the skills, attack skills were far more popular.
A lack in defense could be compensated for to some extent by wearing armor, but the problem was that a lack in offensive power couldn't be compensated for just by holding weapons… which was why training with weapons, where training involved flashy movements, drew more attention from new adventurers.
"I preferred training my Swordsmanship skill as well, so I know how you feel," said Kachia as she recalled the times when she was still a human. She was a former adventurer, now a Ghoul Magic Warrior.
Basdia, a Ghoul Amazoness Leader, nodded. "Shield Technique and Armor Technique are dangerous if you don't practice moving while wearing defensive equipment first. If you're not used to it, you'll lose your balance and fall over in the middle of training. I only use Shield Technique, but at first, I fell over because of my shield so many times, and the hardest times were when I hit my head against my shield," she said, holding up her beloved, long, narrow shield that was in the shape of an enormous mask. This unusually-shaped shield did indeed seem difficult to handle.
As Kachia said, one of the reasons Shield Technique and Armor Technique weren't popular among new adventurers was because of how plain and also how painful it was.
Even for the people of Lambda, who could increase their physical capabilities more easily than the people of Earth and Origin, exercising the whole body while equipped with heavy armor and shields was difficult at first.
Muscular strength and stamina was necessary for acquiring weapon skills as well, but it seemed that when the training consisted of just moving the body, the mental sense of satisfaction was different.
"And Vandalieu-sama, you sometimes forget that you're holding a shield and try to run on all fours, and when you lose your balance, you extend your tongue towards the ground. That's fine to do after learning the skill, but if you do that before learning them, you'll never gain them," said Eleanora.
"You're not allowed to use Flight to fly today, either, Van," said Basdia.
"Or Out-of-body Experience!" Kachia added.
Up until now, Vandalieu's defense had generally relied on his exceptional physical capabilities for evading, his death-attribute magic barriers and the monsters that had powerful defense, like Pete.
It seemed that this fact had become an obstacle in learning the Shield Technique and Armor Technique skills.
"Well, we're going to do quick monster-style training either way, so you just need to get a feeling for it. Now then, let's start sparring," said Kasim as he stepped forward, resting a mace on his shoulder.
The adventurer way to train defense was to endure repeated attacks from an instructor wielding a wooden weapon, a method that required perseverance.
However, the monster method was to start off with gaining experience in real battles while using armor and a shield. This method took less time, but cut the survival rate of the trainees in half.
"I'm relying on you," said Vandalieu.
For those who already possessed high Attribute Values like Vandalieu, the monster-style method would be best for learning to fight real battles while wearing Legendary-class armor.
"Vandalieu-sama, you can't use magic even if you get scared!" said Eleanora.
"Do your best, Van!" Basdia shouted.
"Even if you get hit, it probably won't hurt, so it'll be fine!" said Kachia.
Vandalieu was forbidden from using magic, as it wouldn't help him train in Shield Technique and Armor Technique. Thus, he had to block Kasim's attacks using the shield and armor that he wasn't accustomed to using.
"You don't have to worry so much," said Kasim. "Just like Kachia-san said, even if I accidentally hit him with a martial skill, it wouldn't even scratch him."
"… You're not going to use martial skills, are you?" Vandalieu asked.
"… Vandalieu. The truth is, I still don't have a girlfriend."
"Could you please explain why you're confessing that to me now -"
"HERE I COOOOME!"
Without giving Vandalieu a chance to respond, Kasim raised his mace and tried to strike at Vandalieu.
Of course, Kasim had no intention of taking out his anger on Vandalieu who was receiving the attention of a beautiful, gray-brown-skinned Ghoul with red patterns on her nice body, another Ghoul woman who was a swordsman and a beautiful, red-haired Vampire. It was an act that Kasim was putting on because he thought that giving Vandalieu a little sense of danger would make the training more effective.
The truth was that Kasim's movements weren't that fast in Vandalieu's eyes. Kasim looked impressive as he charged forward in his full suit of armor, but it wasn't enough to produce a reaction from Danger Sense: Death.
Thus, Vandalieu calmly raised his shield and stopped Kasim's attack.
"Oh?" he said in surprise.
And then he was mowed down and sent flying.
Job explanation: Armor Tamer
A Tamer Job specialized in taming Living Armors. The prerequisite for the Job is that the tamed Living Armor equips itself and acts together with the wearer.
This is one of the inferior versions of the Undead Tamer Job.
Those with this Job gain bonuses to the acquisition of the Armor Technique, Coordination, Strengthen Subordinates and Strengthened Defense when equipped with ●● Armor (where ●● is metal or non-metal) skills.
Job explanation:
[Cursed Spirit Swordsman]
A Job that can be acquired by a swordsman who wields a sword that has become a Cursed Weapon. The prerequisite requirement is that the Cursed Weapon must be tamed.
This is one of the inferior versions of the Undead Tamer Job.
Those with this Job gain bonuses to the acquisition of the Swordsmanship, Coordination, Surpass Limits, Surpass Limits - Cursed Spirit Sword, Strengthen Subordinates and Strengthened Attack Power while equipped with a Cursed Spirit Sword skills.
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Chapter 120: A light ruler, and squirming
Kasim, who had swung his mace sideways, met less resistance than he had expected and watched dumbfoundedly as Vandalieu was sent flying.
Eleanora, Basdia and Kachia also watched as he rolled across the ground.
"Ah, that was surprising," Vandalieu said, quickly getting off the ground.
"What do you mean that was surprising, are you alright?!" Kasim asked.
"Vandalieu-sama, have you hurt your back?!"
Kasim, Eleanora and Kachia hastily ran towards him. But Vandalieu wasn't coughing; he quickly stood up.
"There's no problem," he said. "I was just a little surprised."
He hadn't received a single scratch, and though his armor and shield were covered in some dust, they were undamaged as well. His arms didn't feel numb, nor did he find it hard to breathe.
"I didn't think that I would be sent rolling across the ground. Your skill has improved, hasn't it, Kasim?" he remarked.
"EH?! I-I have the strength to send Vandalieu flying…?!" Kasim exclaimed, staring at his own arm that was holding the mace.
"It doesn't look that way at all to me," said Eleanora. "Have you acquired some kind of unique skill?"
"It would be amazing if that was true, but it didn't look like your skill has improved," said Kachia.
Eleanora and Kachia seemed suspicious. And then Basdia, who had remained silent, spoke.
"It's not that Kasim has some special strength. Of course, I think that his growth is remarkable, but the reason that he was able to send Van flying in one hit is simply because Van is light," she said.
"Light?" the other three repeated in unison.
"Yes, light," said Basdia, and then she began her explanation.
First of all, Vandalieu was strong. He could bore holes into an iron plate with a single swing of his claws, and if he used a martial skill, he could shred it to pieces. However, he was a boy, less than nine years of age. And he was clearly smaller and thinner than other boys of his age.
Normally, the stronger someone was, the more muscle and body mass they would have, but in Vandalieu's case, all of that strength was centered around his Superhuman Strength skill.
And the liquid Dark Copper armor that Vandalieu was wearing and the shield made of the Demon King's horns that he was holding were both made to be lighter than they appeared so that he could move more easily.
"And to hit Van's shield, you swung your mace sideways instead of from above, and you started your swing from slightly below you as well, Kasim. That's probably why Van got sent flying so easily," Basdia concluded, folding her arms.
"Wait a second," said Kasim, seemingly not convinced. "We received training from Vandalieu a few times in the cultivation village, and back then, we never thought that he was light."
"Kasim, I wasn't holding a shield back then," said Vandalieu. "I wasn't hit by any of your attacks, either."
"Ah, you're right! But didn't you deflect Fester's sword with the back of your claws?"
"Now that you mention it…"
Vandalieu had trained Kasim, who was from a cultivation village in the Hartner Duchy, as well as the frontline fighter Fester, who wasn't here. Back then, not only did he not use a shield, he hadn't been wearing armor, either, so he had been avoiding most of the attacks from Kasim and his friends.
However, he had deflected Fester's sword with his claws numerous times.
"That's because Van redirected the force of the attacks," said Basdia. "And back then, Van was moving continuously without stopping, wasn't he?"
"I see. If Vandalieu-sama is moving, his own strength resists the attack," said Eleanora.
"And this time, because Vandalieu was standing still and took a sideways swing from a mace, a weapon that transfers its force particularly well, he was sent flying, huh?" said Kachia.
Kasim and Vandalieu nodded, satisfied with Basdia's explanation.
Up until now, Vandalieu had been reliant on death-attribute magic barriers, Golem walls and allies with powerful defenses for his own defense against enemy attacks.
There had been several occasions where he had engaged in hand-to-hand combat against monsters like Goblins for training, but he had kept moving around actively, and many of the attacks he had received were from spears and swords that would pierce or cut his flesh, not send his entire body flying.
The only time he had been mowed down was the time he had deliberately received the attack from the Noble Orc Bugogan's sword.
"I see. But Vandalieu is still small; unless his opponent is a Goblin or a child like him, attacks that aren't front kicks will mostly come from above and swing downwards, so I don't think this would happen very often," said Kasim.
If it were an attack from above, even if Vandalieu stopped it with his shield, he would be able to withstand it by bracing his legs against the ground.
But an attack that scooped him up from below would easily make him lose his balance if he were to stop it with his shield.
Well, outside of training, it was unlikely that Vandalieu would ever find himself in a situation where he was engaged in hand-to-hand combat against an enemy without using magic while separated from his allies.
"Still, the fact that I'm light�� I've never realized it up until now," said Vandalieu.
"Yeah… but now that I think back, don't a lot of different people hold you up in the air? Just the other day, old man Borkus picked you up like a cat," Kasim said.
As he said, Vandalieu was picked up freely by various people. Borkus, the half-Noble Orc Pauvina who was like his younger sister, Basdia and Eleanora all picked him up or held him in their arms.
"That's true, but everyone has the Superhuman Strength skill, and they're all bigger than me," said Vandalieu.
Thus, he had unconsciously believed that it wasn't because he was light, but because everyone picking him up was strong or because they were adults.
"For now, we'll avoid sideways attacks until he gets used to it and switch to attacks from above," said Basdia. "Van, be careful not to lose your balance. Instead of stopping the attack with your shield, try to use the rounded parts to redirect its force. I don't think there'd ever be a situation where you'd be fighting one-on-one against an enemy without being able to use magic, but get used to it just in case."
"Okay," said Vandalieu.
And so, Vandalieu spent every day leading up to his ninth birthday receiving the attacks of Kasim, Eleanora and Basdia.
While being sent into the air on several occasions.
And for some reason, Kachia picked him up and carried him back home on their way back.
"But I can walk on my own," Vandalieu said.
"It's fine, I just realized that I've never picked you up, so I'm just taking the opportunity to do it while I can!" Kachia said.
『You have acquired the Shield Technique and Armor Technique skills!』
However, Vandalieu was the king of a nation. He could not spend his entire day training.
He was also busy with paperwork that he did by multiplying himself, conducting Zandia and Jeena's adjustments and rehabilitation, joining the Black Goblin Ninjas in their training and patrolling the marshlands with the former Scaled King Leo, who was now a Dragon Zombie, and his rider, Bone Man.
"Kings have more free time than you'd expect, don't they?" Vandalieu remarked.
"That only applies for you, Your Majesty," said Chezare. "I am working incessantly every day… Training the newly formed Dark Night Knights' Order, Black Fang Knights' Order and the Scaled Dragon cavalry unit… kufufufu."
"Your Majesty, won't you let me say something to this tireless Undead? I would like to point out that your younger brother is a human made of flesh and blood," said Kurt.
Vandalieu, who could simply multiply with spirit form clones if he wanted more hands or heads, was equivalent to a group of over a dozen people by himself. He was the ruler of a nation, even if that nation was still small, but he had an abundance of free time this way.
Chezare had been demonstrating his qualities as an exceptional military official while he was alive, but after becoming Undead, he no longer felt physical fatigue. And when he was doing the work of a general, he demonstrated marvelous concentration for those tasks.
As for Kurt, who was being made to accompany him… he had been praised as a commander with a steady work method, but he was a human who needed sleep and food.
He was a military man, so he could push himself further than most, but he couldn't push himself every day and every night.
The knights and soldiers being trained were Undead or monsters, so they were more resistant to long activities than Kurt was.
"Kurt, Chezare will easily forget to let you rest while working, so you have to decide on your own when to rest," said Vandalieu.
"You might say that, Your Majesty, but it's difficult for a subordinate to say that he is going to rest while a superior is still working," said Kurt.
"… That might be true."
In Vandalieu's case, though he worked busily, he was enjoying himself as well, so nobody felt the need to be reserved around him. However, Chezare was completely engrossed in work, so perhaps Kurt, Chezare's direct subordinate, couldn't be blamed for being reserved.
"I must implement a paid leave system, mustn't I?" said Vandalieu.
He'd been careful to prevent working environments from being too harsh, but perhaps he hadn't gone far enough. More living people would take up administrative positions in the future as well. Vandalieu decided that the working environments of such positions would need to be improved.
"As you wish," said Chezare. "Well then, please explain this paid leave system that you are thinking of. It must then be put into written document form, reviewed, the administrative positions decided -"
"Your Majesty, it seems that I have more work to do now," Kurt remarked.
"Huh?"
It seemed like it was defeating the purpose, but if a properly-managed paid leave system was put into place, Kurt's working environment would improve as well, so he just needed to endure a little longer.
In between the usual work and training, Vandalieu was also trying to create and refine new magical metals using the silver and gold nuggets obtained from the B-class Dungeon, the Scaled King's Nest.
"It's not going very well," he said.
"It's disappearing, isn't it?" said Pauvina.
"I wonder why that is?" said Zadiris.
"I don't know," said Tarea.
They had been obtaining silver and gold since last year, but unlike the Death Iron and Dark Copper created by immersing iron and copper in death-attribute Mana, the creation of magical metals using gold and silver hadn't succeeded yet.
For some reason, once a certain amount of Mana was poured in, the gold and silver disappeared.
"It's completely gone. I wonder where it went?" Pauvina patted her large hand around the area where a silver nugget had been, but there was nothing there except the floor.
Basdia's mother, the Ghoul Wizard Zadiris, and the leader of the smithing team, the Ghoul High Artisan Tarea, watched with the eyes of a mage and a craftsman respectively, but they didn't understand why the silver nugget had disappeared.
"If the Mana stops before the metal disappears, it stays as normal silver and gold. So, I believe that disappearing is the change that occurs for it to become a magical metal," said Tarea.
"Is there such thing as a disappearing magical metal?" asked Pauvina.
"There are not that many different magical metals to begin with," Tarea replied.
Orichalcum, that could only be created by the gods, the flexible and reparable Damascus Steel whose method of creation was passed on only to certain Dwarf individuals, Mythril and Adamantite which were the top two well-known magical metals, and Obsidian, which could be made by skilled blacksmiths.
These were the common magical metals. There were other magical metals created by being imbued strongly with Mana of a certain attribute, but they were rare and not well-known.
To begin with, magical metals were normally created when metals and minerals were placed for long periods of time in places filled with Mana. Other than Obsidian, which was created by using existing magical metals and materials, and Damascus Steel which was considered possible to create, magical metals were generally not something that could be newly created.
It was only possible for Vandalieu because he possessed an absurd amount of Mana and the ability to accelerate time for inanimate objects with the Inanimate Aging spell.
"But silver and gold disappear in different ways, do they not?" said Zadiris. "Silver just vanishes immediately, but gold just disappears the moment you take your eyes off it."
"That's right," said Tarea. "At first, I thought someone had simply moved it, but…"
It wasn't as if the gold nuggets had escaped on their own, so they had thought that someone had taken it away, but there were no signs of that having happened, so their whereabouts were simply unknown.
Suddenly, the white object that Vandalieu was leaning against gave a small cry. "Pigi-pigi."
"Hmm? Quinn, do you know something about this?" Vandalieu asked.
This white object was the Cemetery queen bee's larva, named Quinn, who had grown to become plump and shiny.
As one might expect of a queen bee larva, she did not move much. Normally, she stayed equipped inside Vandalieu, but she came out like this from time to time.
"Pigii, Kikiki, pipigigigih."
"Hmm, hmm."
"… How does the boy understand what Quinn is saying?" Zadiris wondered. "The other day, he was conversing with the large centipede Pete as well."
"Are those even words to begin with?" asked Tarea. "To me, all of the 'pigihs' sound the same."
"Is that not because of your old age?"
"What did you say?! Zadiris, you are around thirty years older than I am!"
In reality, both of their physical ages had been reversed with Youth Transformation so that they matched their physical appearances of being in their mid-to-late teenage years.
"Van said that Quinn and Pete are smart, so when they combine their noises with the movements of their faces to certain angles and move their feelers around, he can get a rough idea of what they want to say," Pauvina said to the two who were having a useless argument.
It seemed that Vandalieu did indeed understand what Quinn was trying to tell him.
"Rapiéçage is collecting something?"
Everyone turned to see Rapiéçage, who was often seen together with Pauvina, rummaging around for something in the corner of Vandalieu's workshop.
And then, as if she had found something, she gave a happy-sounding groan. And then she lifted the object that she had found -
"Rappie, wait a second, show me that before you eat it!" Pauvina said hastily, stopping Rapiéçage from eating the golden, shining object.
Rapiéçage looked at the small, golden object in her large hand and then exchanged a look with Pauvina. "… Half… sies."
"Thanks!" Pauvina said.
"… No, I do not believe that is what you should be saying?" said Zadiris.
Rapiéçage tore the golden object in half with her fingers.
Pauvina took the half of the object that she had been given and showed it to everyone.
"… Gold?"
"In appearance, it seems to be gold," said Tarea.
The object shone with a golden color that had attracted people since time immemorial. However, for some reason, the object was trembling as it crawled around on Pauvina's palm.
It was like a golden amoeba, or in Lambda terms, like a golden Slime.
Zadiris tried touching it. "Contrary to its appearance, it has a hard texture. And it feels cold like metal, and is heavier than it looks. Is this really gold?"
The object had a metal-like coldness and weight.
"Perhaps this is gold that has been transformed by death-attribute magic?" Vandalieu guessed, watching the object squirming around between Zadiris's fingers.
Impossible, he thought, but when he cast the Detect Life skill to investigate, he found that the object gave a life-like response.
It seemed that this object wasn't simply crawling; it was alive.
Can a living metal exist? Vandalieu wondered.
"It is possible," said Tarea. "It is said that there is a metal that is considered to be a magical metal that contains souls. It is called Soul Steel, and if arms are forged with it, they are arms with intelligence of their own."
"It seems that there are various theories, however," said Zadiris. "Whether it has a soul to begin with, or whether it has a soul after it is turned into arms. And remember, the Orichalcum spear whose soul the boy destroyed before, Ice Age? That could be considered a living metal as well, could it not?"
It seemed that it wasn't a strange thing for a magical metal to be alive.
"Om, nom."
Chew, chew, chew, swallow.
"De… licious…"
Rapiéçage swallowed half of that living metal. Apparently, it was delicious.
"Those living magical metals, are they edible?" Vandalieu asked.
"Normally, they would not be," said Zadiris. "Though there are tales of Dragons swallowing them…"
"Amazing, Van-sama! To think that you have made the world's first edible metal! … I do not know how that is amazing, however," said Tarea.
"It was a gold nugget to begin with, after all," said Pauvina.
The invention of an edible, delicious metal. Indeed, it was likely the first in the world. But it begged the question, "So what?"
If it was dirt or rock to begin with, it would be a great invention. If it provided nutrition, it might eradicate the world's hunger problems.
However, the ingredient was lumps of solid gold.
If it were just edible and nothing more, nobody would bother eating something as expensive as gold. Extremely rich people might consider eating it, however.
No matter how delicious it was, wouldn't the demand be too limited?
"Well then, can we try eating it?" Pauvina asked.
"Yes, let us try eating it first," said Vandalieu.
"Pigih~" Quinn squeaked.
"Even if it is edible and tastes pleasant, there is no guarantee that it will not be harmful," said Zadiris.
"If we have Van-sama cast Disinfect, all of the bad components will disappear, so it will be alright," said Tarea.
After that, everyone tried eating a share of it to find that it was delicious. The flavor couldn't be described as sweet or bitter, nor was it spicy or sour, but it was somehow delicious. Perhaps it contained some undiscovered amino acid.
"Ah, I can feel myself gaining Experience Points from eating it," said Zadiris.
"Amazing! I just leveled up!" Pauvina exclaimed.
"This is… truly amazing!" said Tarea.
It seemed that it provided Experience Points, though in small amounts. Was it because the metal was alive?
"So, boy, can you see this gold's spirit?" Zadiris asked.
"No, it doesn't seem like there is one," said Vandalieu.
Despite having been alive, no spirit emerged from the gold.
This living gold was named Life Gold.
Incidentally, even Rapiéçage didn't know where the silver went, and its whereabouts remained unknown.
A fearsome group moved through the outskirts of the marshlands at night.
At its head was the former Scaled King Leo, who had become a Zombie Dragon with a head that resembled a crocodile's, and the armored Skeleton riding it, Bone Man. Leo let out a low groan.
Growling rose from the Zombies that formed the newly-reborn Black Bull Knights' Order, who were originally a part of the Mirg shield-nation's army, and the newly-established Scaled Dragon Knights' Order.
They were mounted on Demon Horses, horses that had transformed into monsters, which could travel without problems even in the marshlands due to the Rough Road Travel skill.
However, the Demon Horses' Ranks had increased and they had become something else.
The members of the Black Bull Knights' Order were riding Rank 4 Bicorns, ferocious, omnivorous horse-like monsters who possessed horns coated in deadly venom. They were monsters that were larger than horses and possessed even more strength and stamina than they appeared to; even brown bears would be prey for them.
The members of the Scaled Dragon Knights' Order were mounted on black horses with shining, crimson eyes. They were Rank 4 as well, but they were Nightmare Horses with the Air-running skill. They had the same constitution and physical strength as Demon Horses, but because they could run through the air, their mobility was greatly increased.
Both were rare, and though they were originally horses, they didn't form groups. Thus, there weren't any countries that used them as mounts for their knights.
"No abnormalities. There aren't even any traces that monsters have come in from outside…" Bone Man murmured in disappointment.
"Bone Man-dono, monsters generally do not venture into places that they are unsuited to live in unless they are greatly starving or have been chased away by an outside enemy," said a Zombie Knight of the Black Bull Knights' Order.
"But even if it is for our training, simply moving around and observing is tedious," said Bone Man. "We have not even cut anything down today."
Bone Man had accompanied Vandalieu on his expedition to the former Sauron Duchy, but after coming back, he had returned to his job of keeping watch around the swamp on Leo's back.
However, the marshlands were an embodiment of peace itself, to the point that it was questionable as to whether it was even necessary to keep watch over them. They had been ruled by the Lizardmen to begin with, so there were almost no dangerous monsters other than them. And just like the Zombie Knight had explained a moment ago, monsters rarely ventured into the marshlands from the outside.
Talosheim was far more dangerous, as one step outside the city's walls would leave one exposed to lands where monsters of Rank 3 or above roamed.
That was why Bone Man was spending his days riding a corpse Dragon. At this rate, his skills would grow blunt.
But the reason for that was beneath his own bottom.
"Bone Man-dono, how about dismounting Leo?" the Zombie Knight suggested.
"Indeed. There is no way that any monsters would willingly approach a place that is periodically visited by a high-Rank Undead such as Leo," said Bone Man.
"If Goblins were to see his enormous body, they would flee," the Zombie Knight agreed.
Other monsters would run upon seeing Leo or smelling his scent.
Leo had been a Rank 10 Great Mud Dragon when he was alive. He had become significantly weaker since becoming a Zombie, but he had ventured through the Scaled King's Nest, a B-class Dungeon, and regained enough power to be Rank 8.
Bone Man's Rank had increased, so the two were now of the same Rank, but the impressiveness of their appearances were vastly different. Bone Man simply appeared to be a Skeleton in a suit of armor, while Leo looked terrifying with his enormous body and crocodile-like appearance.
And though Vandalieu had used magic to stop Leo's decomposition, monsters with a sharp sense of smell would be able to detect the Zombie Dragon's presence through his scent.
As a result, monsters would flee from any place that Leo passed through… Rank 1 monsters such as Giant Catfish or Giant Frogs would happily loiter around in Leo's presence, but that was because they sensed that Leo would take no notice of such low-Rank monsters.
It was the same reason why Goblins would run from an Ogre, but ants wouldn't.
"Jyuuh, but dismounting Leo when he has been gifted to me by my lord…"
At the thought of dismounting Leo, Bone Man made a glum face… or rather, his face didn't change, but his sullenness was audible in his voice.
For Bone Man, Leo was the Dragon Zombie that he had always wanted, given to him by Vandalieu. He was Bone Man's beloved mount, and Bone Man always made time to polish his scales and fangs.
Leo gave another groan.
Of course, he always had a somewhat vacant look in his eyes, so it wasn't clear whether Bone Man's affection was getting through to him.
"And I cannot do something like exposing my lord's territory to danger just to stave off the boredom…" Bone Man murmured.
"Then you must endure," said the Zombie Knight. "Once we have finished our patrol, you are on leave, are you not? You may exercise your skill to your heart's content in the Dungeon."
"Jyuuh…"
Bone Man reluctantly fell silent and concentrated on his surroundings. As this loose conversation came to an end, only the breathing and hoofbeats of the Bicorn and Nightmare Horses' could be heard.
But the Bicorns suddenly began gnashing their teeth in agitation.
"This is the smell of blood!" Bone Man exclaimed.
"Did monsters fight nearby?" the Zombie Knight murmured.
Conflict between monsters was not a rare event. However, the smell of blood being left behind for a long time was unusual. The insects and weaker monsters in Devil's Nests would suck up and consume every single drop of scattered blood and every piece of flesh.
And the Undead, who could see spirits, could see the spirits of Orcs. They soon dissolved and vanished, perhaps returning to the circle of transmigration.
"Orcs, this close to the marshlands? This is a first," said the Zombie Knight.
"Jyuuh, the spirits have disappeared, but something may be left behind. Search the surroundings," Bone Man ordered.
The Undead searched the surroundings, but the Orcs' corpses had been absorbed by something; all they could find were fragments of broken swords and small pieces of what appeared to be Orc flesh. And the tracks of an enormous insect, leading south.
"Is something happening in the south? Jyuuh… I must report this to my lord."
There was a vessel shaped like a round pool, placed in one corner of Vandalieu's workshop, which was now empty.
It was filled with a flesh-colored liquid, and organs like arms, legs and heads were chaotically extending from its surface and then collapsing back inside, over and over.
It was the mysterious, writhing mass of flesh that had been produced when Vandalieu used the incomplete resurrection device in an attempt to resurrect Darcia.
For some reason, it did possess life, but it was a mysterious object that contained no spirit or soul.
At first, Luciliano had observed it enthusiastically, saying that this could be the birth of a new life-form, but he had seen no changes other than its squirming around. Now, Vandalieu, Pauvina and the other children were simply feeding it dead flesh.
However, at this moment, a hand was extending from the mass of flesh.
『――』
The lump of flesh extended its hand outside the pool, showing a movement with intention for the first time. And then it grabbed hold of something on the floor.
A shining, silver object appeared in its hand. The lump of flesh, which had gripped this silver object… the silver nugget of an unknown magical metal that Vandalieu had created with death-attribute Mana, withdrew its arm and buried the silver nugget within itself.
It began writhing more fiercely than before, liking boiling water… and then it stopped moving.
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