Chapter 10: Armor in both hands, speaking of dreams
A week after Vandalieu left, Cashew, leader of the『Wind Chasers』who had obtained the rights to explore the Dungeon first from the Adventurers' Guild, entered said Dungeon with his companions in high spirits.
The prestige and advancement for their party that came with the rights to the first exploration were not the only reasons that they wanted it so badly. The treasures inside the Dungeon were a big draw for them as well.
The Ranks of the monsters that appear in Dungeons and the quality and value of the items that one could obtain from them are fixed to some extent. However, that only applies for Dungeons that have already been discovered and have adventurers enter them regularly.
The longer a Dungeon went with nobody entering and clearing the monsters out, the more the monsters multiplied and killed each other, increasing the levels of those who won such internal conflicts and possibly even increasing their Rank. This would make the Dungeons more difficult, but the value of the items inside would also increase accordingly.
This would be especially true of this Dungeon, as it was an unexplored Dungeon that nobody had ventured into. The first exploration of any Dungeon is a high risk venture, but one that yields high reward.
For this reason, Cashew and his companions had checked their equipment and prepared for the dangers, while at the same time anticipating great rewards for their efforts.
However, what they found was disappointing. On the first floor, only Goblins appeared, with a few Goblin Soldiers and Archers mixed in. They lit their lanterns and proceeded with caution through the second floor, and it gave them no trouble. The third floor was a simple matter of watching their steps through the mud.
「Most of the monsters appearing are Rank 1. There's the occasional Rank 2, but they're few in number.」
「Isn't this one of those low-difficulty F-class dungeons?」
Dungeons are Ranked by the Adventurers' Guild based on their difficulty. This sets a standard for how many adventurers of the same class would need to form a party to clear it.
An F-class Dungeon is the easiest of Dungeons, a labyrinth used as a training ground for novice adventurers.
Of course, the rewards that could be harvested from such a Dungeon would be nothing but pocket change for Cashew and his companions, who were D-class adventurers.
「But why have the Dungeon's stairs turned into ramps? The hardest part about this Dungeon is getting up and down those.」
「Who knows? Maybe it's to train your legs?」
However, once they passed the third floor, they no longer had the leisure to make such idle chat. As they descended into the fourth floor, they were forced to fight for their lives.
「OOOOOOOOOGH.」
「DIE!」
「Why are there Rank 3 Zombie Soldiers and Wraiths coming out all of a sudden?!」
「Cashew! There's a Skeleton Archer aiming at us from further inside!」
「Hyiih! There's even a Stone Golem coming this way!」
Up until the third floor, Vandalieu had cleared the monsters once, so there were few Rank 2 monsters. However, he had not defeated a single monster on the fourth floor.
In addition, the Stone Golems that Vandalieu had created to avoid traps had been added to the Dungeon's repertoire of monsters.
And since Cashew and his companions did not possess the[Death Attribute Charm]skill, the Undead attacked them fiercely.
Cashew's party, the『Wind Chasers』, were aiming for a promotion to Class, so they had fought not only Rank 3 monsters but even Rank 4 monsters in the past, and they had even combined all of their members' strength to defeat a Rank 5 monster on one occasion. They were veterans that would be able to defeat Rank 3 monsters, even if they were outnumbered two to one.
However, they were not strong enough to be able to continuously fight against an endless swarm of them.
「Sheet! We're retreating for now!」
Deciding to make a tactical retreat before sustaining too many losses, Cashew and his party returned to Terow and gave up on conquering the Dungeon on their own, joining forces with the『Steel Wings』and the『White Stars』before challenging the Dungeon once more.
With fifteen D-class adventurers gathered together, they were to get through the fourth floor without difficulty and barely managed to conquer the fifth floor. However, they fought an incredibly difficult battle against the Rank 6 Black Skull General and the ten Rank 4 Cursed Armors.
In the end, they were forced to retreat as well and the Adventurers' Guild commissioned a Class party for the first clearing of the Dungeon. However, those Class adventurers were disappointed.
「I had high hopes since this was an uncleared Dungeon, but this is all we get, huh.」
They defeated the Black Skull General safely, but there was no treasure desirable for Class adventurers in the treasure storage room; the items there were only worth loose change in their eyes.
The weapon and shield used by the Black Skull General was using a problematic Mana absorption ability during the battle, but they fell to pieces as soon as he was defeated, so the adventurers were unable to claim them for themselves.
Undead monsters have a higher chance to yield Magic Stones, but most monsters at Rank 4 and above drop Magic Stones anyway.
They would dismiss this Dungeon as a failure in their disappointment and put it behind them, but they would have never imagined in their wildest dreams that an infant who was not even an adventurer had ventured into the Dungeon and cleared it before them.
Afterwards, this Dungeon was classified as an E-class dungeon and the explanation given for the fact that powerful monsters had appeared below the fourth floor was that the Dungeon had simply been left alone by adventurers for too long.
And then the Dungeon was used to train new adventurers.
They were products carefully created by adding metal armor on the outer surface of a monster's hide, but lined with soft monster fur so as to not damage delicate skin. In addition, the mana imbued in them granted all kinds of resistances, so even though they appeared to be thin, fragile items, they were actually sturdier than the average plate armor.
The blue high-leg leotard armor has a V-shaped split above the pointed crotch region, leaving the navel and important internal organs beneath it completely exposed. The chest part would probably only cover two-thirds of one's breasts, and the back is also left bare until just above the buttocks.
The bikini armor is just as lacking in surface area. It also does not cover more than two-thirds of the breasts, and the bottom part is cut quite low, as if it has been taken into consideration that a beast-person with a tail may wish to wear it.
But unlike the swimsuit-like torso portions, the shoulder armor, wrist covers and leg guards are properly made. This imbalance causes the wearer to have an immodest appearance, though perhaps they would be a stimulating sight for anyone who sees them.
Though, this only applies if a woman is wearing it.
「It wasn't anything to be concerned about after all.」
Vandalieu gave an earnest nod as he examined the high-leg armor and bikini armor before him.
Indeed, they were just suits of armor.
The high-leg armor housed the spirit of Sam's eldest daughter, Saria. The bikini armor was inhabited by his second daughter, Rita.
Both of them were of marriageable age, and according to Sam, they were his two adorable daughters who took after their mother.
『…』
However, now that they inhabited these suits of armor, only these suits of armor could be seen, even for Vandalieu, who possessed an affinity for the death attribute.
However, since their spirits had the appearance of burnt corpses, this was probably for the better.
He had also said this when he had used his daughters to haunt these suits of armor to create Living Armors - Even though these suits of armor were very revealing, not even the tips of his Sam's daughters' pinky fingers would be exposed if they were to be inhabiting these, so there was absolutely no need to worry.
Even if one were to try to peek at their chests, they would see not cleavage, but the inner lining of the armor on the other side.
「Well, I guess it's good enough that I've increased my number of Rank 3 allies. Now then, let's get on with the experiments.」
With these words, Vandalieu began to pour an excess amount of Mana into Saria and Rita. The two of them soaked up hundreds of thousands, millions of Mana colored black with the death attribute.
『…!』
The two of them began to tremble, as if writhing in agony, but even after this continued for quite a while, there was no further change. When Vandalieu checked their statuses, neither their levels nor their Rank had changed. They were still a Living High-Leg Armor and a Living Bikini Armor.
Although for some reason, this process apparently felt pleasant for them.
「As I thought, it's no good.」
He had tried the same thing on Bone Man and the others, but they hadn't undergone any change… Though he did get the feeling that their bones were shinier and the cracks in them had disappeared afterwards.
But the Skeleton General and the Living Armors he had encountered in the Dungeon had become visibly stronger.
『Maybe you haven't met the requirements for them to increase their Rank.』
「Requirements?」
『Yes, I'm not very knowledgeable about how monsters increase their Rank, but if it's like how people's Jobs work, I think there are requirements besides increasing their level.』
According to Darcia, Job changes sometimes required several conditions other than reaching a certain level. For example, even if an adventurer with the Apprentice Mage Job reached level 100, their skill with magic had to be of a certain standard to advance to being a Mage - to be precise, they required at least one skill at level 2 or above.
There are other examples that are not limited to skill requirements. A Job change to Knight requires one to be knighted and one must possess a magic sword in order to become a Magic Swordsman; certain ceremonies or prestige and possession of certain items could also be requirements.
Also, one needs to be a beast-man to become a Beast-fighter, a requirement that one must be born with.
Darcia's suggestion was that perhaps there were similar requirements for monsters to increase their Rank.
「So then, that Skeleton General and those Living Armors had reached the required level to increase their Rank, but weren't able to do so because they didn't meet the other requirements. And then when I poured my Mana into them, those requirements were fulfilled and they increased Rank, is that right?」
『That might be the case.』
「I see.」
It did make sense now that Darcia said it. Goblins did not become Goblin Mages and then learn how to use magic; Goblins with talent for magic who then became proficient with it increased their Rank to become Goblin Mages.
In other words, there was no easy shortcut such as pouring Mana into the monsters to have them increase their Rank.
「Well then, if any of my Undead don't increase their Rank after reaching level 100, I'll try it out then. Saria, Rita, thanks for participating in my experiment. Make sure you practise using weapons with everyone later.」
As Saria and Rita were maids, they naturally had no knowledge about fighting. Therefore, it was necessary to have them undergo training so that they could learn the skills that they needed.
For that purpose, Vandalieu decided to have them choose weapons for themselves. As they were beginners, he had expected them to choose swords or spears, but…
『…』
Saria chose a halberd and Rita took a glaive. They were the items that they had discovered in the Dungeon, and though Vandalieu was unsure exactly what effects they possessed, they were considerably powerful Magic Items. However… he had the feeling that they were not exactly ideal for amateur fighters.
「Are you sure you want those?」
In response to Vandalieu's question, Saria and Rita swung their weapons through the air and reassured him that it was fine. Perhaps it should be expected of Living Armors, but they were able to lift these heavy weapons in a way that they would definitely not have been able to do in their previous lives.
「If you say so, but if it's too difficult, make sure you change to a sword or a spear. If you prefer heavy weapons, there's a cudgel as well.」
As Vandalieu said that, the two of them happily (probably) began their training to polish their skills with Bone Man and the others.
It was a general rule that skills leveled up as one used them, so they were to make use of the fact that Undead needed no sleep or rest in order to carry out their training.
With that said, nobody present knew how to use a halberd or a glaive, not even Vandalieu, so the training simply consisted of trying swinging it downwards, stabbing it forwards like a spear and slashing sideways.
This was far less efficient than real battles, but being on a continuous journey while also constantly looking for sources of Experience Points such as Goblins and bandits would be too tiring for Vandalieu, even if the Undead could handle it. Also, he wasn't particularly keen on contributing to the maintenance of peace in the country of Mirg.
「Well then, I'll take care of these walnuts that we picked up yesterday.」
The sun was still high in the air and Vandalieu wasn't feeling tired, so a nap could come later. Being the only one to slack off didn��t sit well with him either, so he began preparing some walnuts.
He had more than enough food, but having salt as his only option for seasoning was getting dull, so he planned to make sauce using the walnuts.
He had a vase full of walnuts that had been picked yesterday afternoon. They were still unripe and the fruit was still intact, so eating them as they were was out of the question. He spread them over the ground.
「They'll need about a month or so, huh.[Decomposition.]」
And then he used death-attribute magic to speed up the decomposition process by a month. The unripe fruit turned black and muddy.
Washing away this decomposed fruit with spring water that he had used Golems to collect caused the seeds to come out. Peeling their shells finally yielded the walnuts, but he had to be careful not to be impatient and crush them by accident. If that happened, the broken fragments of the shell would become mixed with the walnuts and less of the walnut would be usable.
And so he used Earth Golems to cook them lightly, using a fire that he created by making Golems from firewood and having them rub against each other. Doing this made it easier to break the shells.
『Now all you need to do is split the shells with a knife once they've cooled down.』
So Darcia advised. As a member of a race that lived in the forest, she was knowledgeable about how to use things that the forest provided.
Vandalieu used[Heat Leech]to cool the walnuts down and then used his nails to split the walnuts. Darcia had told him to use a knife, but lately he had become able to grow his nails to a certain length at will, so he decided to put this ability to practical use.
「In the future, I might have to use these to fight or something.」
His late father had been a master of close-quarters combat, and had been good at fighting using his claws. Could this be a hereditary trait as well? As Vandalieu wondered this, Darcia opened her mouth as if she had just thought of something.
『Future, huh… Do you have something you want to become in the future, Vandalieu?』
「Future? I want to become a high-class adventurer, build up achievements and become a nobleman. And then I want to become well-known in society.」
『… The first part is childish, but I have to question the second part.』
「But that's what I need the most, societal fame.」
Vandalieu answered her question while loudly splitting the walnut shells with his nails.
「When Amemiya Hiroto and the others are reincarnated here in the future, even if Rodcorte tells them about me, they won't be able to do too anything reckless if I'm well-known in society.」
Vandalieu had recently come to realize that he had something in common with Amemiya Hiroto and the others - unable to return to Earth, they would have to live on Lambda until they died.
Even with cheat-like abilities, Amemiya and the others would not so easily be able to make the entirely of society their enemy. By being reincarnated here, they would have parents and siblings in this world. They would also likely find friends, and perhaps even lovers.
If Vandalieu was well-known in society, they would not be able to lay their hands on him carelessly, as that would cause trouble for their family and everyone involved with them. If Vandalieu was a nobleman, even more so.
「Mom, if I have political power and fame, society will become my shield.」
『Hmm, I think I meant something different with my question. If you didn't have to worry about that Amemiya* person and the others, what would your dream be?』
「If I didn't have to worry about those guys…」
Vandalieu realized what Darcia was trying to ask. In short, she wanted to know his future dreams, what he wanted to become and what desires he wished to see fulfilled. Innocent dreams, such as children of Earth wishing to become major leaguers or soccer players or movie stars.
However, the problem was that Vandalieu was not a dreaming child.
He had a feeling that he admired pilots, a long time ago. However, after coming to live with his uncle's family, he came to admire bodybuilders. He dreamed of owning log-like upper arms and clear abdominal muscles. He imagined that if he became this strong, he could escape his uncle's control.
But he felt that this still didn't answer Darcia's question.
So what was the answer? In Origin, all he could dream of was his own freedom.
「… I want to be happy, I guess.」
After thinking for a short while, the answer he came up with was a very simple one.
As Vandalieu mashed the peeled walnuts on top of the stone plate, he looked into the distance.
「I want to be happy, build up a warm family and relationships with others and live in luxury.」
It was such a common, vague dream, but it was what Vandalieu truly wanted. It was the ideal that he had yearned for, even before he died on Earth.
With that said, the luxury he had in mind wasn't driving around in a Cadillac or Ferrari with a beautiful woman in a passenger seat, wearing top brand clothes and wristwatches, or owning a mansion in the center of the city.
Vandalieu hadn't consciously realized it yet, but he had a deep-rooted complex when it came to luxury.
On Earth, when he was called Amamiya Hiroto, his uncle had raised him sternly so that he could become independent once he became an adult.
For this reason, he had prohibited any good treatment towards Hiroto and disallowed him any luxuries. Leaving him as the only one to not receive any Christmas or birthday presents was only the beginning of this.
And so, during Vandalieu's time on earth, he had been denied everything that his uncle had deemed a「luxury.」
Games and toys were luxuries, so even if he borrowed them from friends, he was not allowed to play with them. Whatever was trending at the time was a luxury, so it was banned. Everyone has a yoyo? Spinning tops are popular? Collecting erasers of different shapes was a game? All banned. If you have any, throw them away right now.
Steaks and cakes were also luxuries. Hamburger patties are steaks, so they are a luxury and are banned. Don't eat them, even when the school provides them. If you eat it, you have to throw it up. Bulk packs of products? Making a saving is a luxury, so those are banned. Steak-flavored snacks are banned. Ah, what a pain, but sweet foods are also banned.
Eating out is a luxury, so it's banned, whether it's fast food or whatever. Traveling is a luxury, so school trips are banned, spending leisure time doing what one wants is a luxury, so you have to stay at home by yourself, new clothes are a luxury…
As if allergic to luxuries, his uncle had banned every single luxury possible. If the cup ramen and buns from the convenient store so much has had the words「luxury」or「high quality」on them, he would be struck with an open palm and be shouted at with words such as「Indulging in such luxuries when you don't even have parents, don't act so spoiled!」
It was the absolute worst after a documentary about needy children overseas aired on television. He didn't do anything, but he was suddenly shouted at and asked why he wasn't feeling embarrassed about being so spoiled when there are children suffering like this around the world, and then received multiple strikes.
Because of this, all his clothes were handed down from his uncle's children of the same age, and at some point he began having to cook all his own food. His normal behavior was strange, so he was unable to make any friends and nothing good came from having his teachers notice him.
In addition to this, his uncle believed that striking a child with a fist might be considered abuse, but using an open palm is discipline, so his uncle never regretted his own actions.
Of course, his aunt and cousins did nothing to stop his uncle; abandoning him was safer for them than trying to interfere.
If this treatment was because his uncle's family were poor themselves, then it could be justified. However, they had money. They had Vandalieu's inheritance from his parents and their life insurance. Also, the reparation fees paid by the person who had caused the accident that took their lives.
The total amount was enough to raise three children from birth, put them all through private university and still have money left over.
In such conditions, the treatment of Vandalieu was inexcusable.
He managed to save money from his part-time job to go on the high school trip, but the boat was sunk by terrorists which only added insult to injury.
It was even more infuriating to think that his uncle had promised that the remainders of his parents' inheritance would be his once he left the house, but now his uncle's family would keep all of it.
And then he had lived his second life in Origin as a laboratory animal. He didn't even have freedom in this second life, let alone luxuries.
That was why Vandalieu wanted to become happy and live in luxury in this third life. First of all, he wanted to live in a society where he could spend money.
「I'll decide what's a luxury and what isn't when I arrive in the Orbaume Kingdom, though.」
『Really? I think if you become a high-class adventurer, you'll become rich just from that.』
「Yeah, it's fine. I'll kill High Priest Gordan and Heinz properly.」
『Yeah, thanks. But you don't have to force yourself, you know?』
「Alright. I'll become strong enough to be able to kill them easily, alright, Mom?」
『So is it alright for me to feel relaxed about that? Still, don't push yourself, okay?』
For some reason, Darcia had the feeling that Vandalieu didn't quite understand what she was trying to say, but she gave up, knowing that her chances of making him understand were low. In fact, becoming a nobleman in the Orbaume Kingdom meant that it was likely that High Priest Gordan and Heinz, who lived in the Amid Empire and its nations, would become his enemies anyway.
If Vandalieu decided that it was necessary to kill them, then it probably was.
The walnuts were complete after adding some herbs that he had obtained from the forests. Vandalieu wanted to add nice-smelling oil to this, but he had no such oil available. Still, knowing that tonight's dinner would taste better, he gave a satisfied sigh.
「It sure would be nice to eat some rice instead of burned, hard bread.」
Thankfully, Vandalieu's uncle's luxury allergy hadn't extended to banning rice. Vandalieu hadn't thought anything special about eating rice when eating it on Earth, but now that it had been more than twenty years since he had last eaten it, he missed it.
『Rice? I think I heard that they make it in the Orbaume Kingdom. The countries are sometimes called Amid of Bread and Orbaume of Rice.』
「Seriously?!」
The Orbaume Kingdom scored some points in Vandalieu's heart.
Vandalieu turned sixteen months old in October. As autumn began to turn into winter, he finally reached the eastern end of the country of Mirg.
Further east than this, the land was ruled by nature and filled with Devil's Nests. Vandalieu had to get through that and then cross the mountain range.
However, as it was ill-advised to attempt to cross the mountain range during winter, Vandalieu decided to hide in the surrounding forests while attacking nearby bandits until spring, just as he was doing now in a thicket near a Devil's Nest, waiting for the sun to go down.
This was Vandalieu's plan.
「Now that I think about it, I've never been skiing before. With my current physical ability, I wonder if I'd be able to learn it quickly.」
On Vandalieu's status screen, his physical ability, even the Agility that had been his lowest attribute, was now higher than that of a normal adult male. However, it would be reckless for an inexperienced person to attempt to ski on a normal slope.
『Skiing? Is that also something from Earth?』
Sam, the dim white silhouette sitting in the coachman's chair, speaks up. This was his spirit form that he had now that he was a Ghost Carriage. He was holding the reins of similarly spiritual horses.
His body was not well-defined, like a ghost in a ghost photograph, but Vandalieu thought that it was much easier to talk to him now compared to before, when he wasn't visible at all.
「It's a sport on Earth. You put planks on your feet and slide down snowly hills. You don't have it in this world?」
『I have never heard of it. Though I have heard of sledding.』
After talking to Sam and Darcia, Vandalieu came to realize that on Lambda, sports such as the ones on earth didn't really exist. To be more specific, there were no sports that one enjoyed for the sake of competition and leisure. They competed in swordsmanship and archery skill, but on the assumption that such skills will be used to fight monsters and participate in wars. The same went for athletics and horse-riding.
The only exceptions were the things that royalty and noblemen learned for the sake of knowledge.
Ball sports such as baseball and soccer, and leisure sports such as surfing and skiing didn't exist in Lambda.
It could be assumed that this was because there were many powerful monsters, so there wasn't as much freedom as there was on earth. It was better to become able to fight than to waste one's physical ability on such sports.
With that said, even if competitive sports were not developed, it was surprising that sledding had not progressed into the invention of skis after ten thousand years. This sort of thing was probably the reason that Rodcorte considered this to be an inferior world. Well, it was possible that there was a snowy country that Sam didn't know about.
「Sam, skiing is -」
As Vandalieu began explaining what skiing is, he heard a faint voice.
「A woman's scream?」
『That is what I thought it sounded like.』
And then the wind brought a faint, pleasant scent that stimulated Vandalieu's appetite. The smell of blood.
In the direction that this wind came from, a woman had let out a scream and was bleeding. In other words, she was being attacked by something.
『What shall you do?』
The reason Sam asked this was because Vandalieu's party's options were not limited to the normal ones of「go to help」and「avoid getting involved.」
In the country of Mirg, all of them were considered monsters that should be exterminated. It was easy to imagine helping this poor woman and being thanked by being brought to an adventurer group that had received a request to exterminate them.
Therefore, if Vandalieu logically considered the risks, he would ignore the scream and continue on with his journey.
With that said, now that Sam had learned about Vandalieu's personality and goals, he doubted that Vandalieu would choose such an option.
「Sam, head upwind. Bone Bird, scout up ahead. Bone Man, Saria and Rita, get in the carriage.」
Vandalieu's decision was『for now, help out if it seems dangerous, and then think about what to do afterwards.』
It seemed like a wait-and-see approach, but he couldn't decide「let's help her」and bring the woman back to life if she had already been killed. But on the other hand, he could easily choose the alternative of「let's stop helping her」at any time and kill her to make sure she didn't talk.
Therefore, this choice was logically correct, Vandalieu thought.
「Geeeh.」
Bone Bird gave a cry as it flapped its spirit wings and took off into the air, and Bone Man, Saria and Rita who had been busy with their combat training jumped into the carriage.
『As you wish, Bocchan.』
The spirit horses began to run at a gentle pace. Sam was one of the few Undead who could speak to Vandalieu, and though he offered his opinions sometimes, he never opposed Vandalieu's commands.
And then Vandalieu magically linked Bone Bird's vision to his, allowing him to see what Bone Bird saw.
As Bone Bird flew higher and higher, he could see several humans doing something at the boundary at which the forest ended and a grass-covered plain began.
Because Bone Bird had no eyeballs, or perhaps because Vandalieu's magic was still not advanced enough, its vision was worse than that of a living bird.
Even so, he could vaguely make out the humans' situation. There were five of them in total… no, six.
Among them, three of them were standing. One of them was collapsed on the ground. One more was straddling that person, and another was crouching down next to her.
Other than the one lying on the ground, all of them were men. Three of them were wearing metal armor. One was in leather armor and the other was in robes. It was one of the ones in metal armor was straddling the person on the ground.
Judging from the fact that their equipment was all different, they were likely adventurers. They did seem quite cautious about their surroundings, but that caution was directed towards the Devil's Nest to make sure that no monsters came out of there to attack them; they were not expecting any attack to come from the thicket.
Made of only bones and a faintly glowing spirit form, Bone Bird would be difficult to spot in the middle of a sunny day, so there was no chance that it would be noticed while it was scouting.
The one lying on the ground was a woman with long hair and an unusual skin color… grey-brown. She was half naked and bleeding.
The man crouched down next to her reached his hand out to her chest.
「Sam, use Silent Steps and go as fast as you can. Let's kill them all, guys.」
This scene caused Vandalieu's blood to rush into his head. And then he calmly decided to kill slaughter all of these men. They seemed to be adventurers, but they were a lowly, bandit-like group.
Vandalieu felt sad. To think that there would be more guys like the Blue-flamed Sword Heinz in a place like this; did the adventurers of this country have no morals?
『Certainly, Bocchan.』
Sam swung the reins up and down, and the carriage's speed suddenly increased. However, this didn't cause the carriage to shake, and the sound it produced was unbelievably small.
The[Rough Road Travel]skill made it possible to use the[High-Speed Travel]skill even on the unpaved surface of the field. The noise that was supposed to be produced by the hoofs of the spiritual horses that were a part of Sam's body was erased by the[Silent Steps]skill. In addition, the carriage should have been shaking violently, but this was prevented by the[Impact Resistance]skill.
Sam was a carriage filled with cheats. Vandalieu thought that he could become a high-class limousine.
Bone Bear, Bone Wolf and Bone Monkey were running alongside the carriage at wild speeds.
「Bone Man, you wait for my signal and then use your bow to get a pre-emptive strike on the one in leather armor. He's probably a Thief, so he'll be hard to track down if he gets away. Sam could probably chase him down, but just in case. I'll make the robed one that looks like a Mage powerless. The rest of you, take each of the armored ones on two-on-one.」
As Vandalieu spoke, he gave a sideward glance at Bone Man, who was nocking an arrow in his bow.
「Right, let's save that girl.」
That was the good thing to do.
Name: Saria.
Rank: 3.
Race: Living High-Leg Armor.
Level: 1
Passive skills:
Special Five Senses.
Physical Ability Enhancement: Level 2 (NEW!).
Water Element Resistance: Level 2 (NEW!).
Physical Attack Resistance: Level 2 (NEW!)
Active skills:
Housework: Level 2
Name: Rita.
Rank: 3.
Race: Living Bikini Armor.
Level: 1
Passive skills:
Special Five Senses.
Physical Ability Enhancement: Level 2 (NEW!).
Fire Element Resistance: Level 2 (NEW!).
Physical Attack Resistance: Level 2 (NEW!)
Active skills:
Housework: Level 1
Monster Explanation:
[Living Armors]
These are suits of armor inhabited by evil spirits. Most of them are inhabited by spirits of soldiers, knights or adventurers who experienced fighting with armor on during their lifetimes, but few of them retain their memories and personalities. Most of them simply attack the living indiscriminately.
Their strength depends on the armor they inhabit and the weapons they hold, but Living Armors made from chainmail and half-plate armor are Rank 3. Ones made from full-plate armor are classified as Rank 4.
There are rare cases where Living Armors are made from Magic Items, but in those cases, the Rank depends on the features of those Magic Items.
As proof that one has eliminated a Living Armor, the Magic Stone that almost always drops regardless of the Living Armor's Rank is used. The materials that can be obtained from Living Armors are the armor that was possessed and the weapons and shields that were used. Since they are covered in Mana, there is a chance that these items become Magic Items. Using these items as they are is dangerous, as there is a chance that the bearer becomes cursed, but purifying them makes them safe to use.
Saria and Rita are inhabiting suits of armor that are Magic Items, but as they are maids who never experienced using weapons during their lifetime, their skill levels and Rank are appropriately low.
However, this does not harm the functions of the armor itself, so their defensive and resistance skills are unaffected.
Skill Explanation:
[Mental Corruption]
This is a skill that represents mental derangement, the depth of one's trauma and the severity of phobias. It also functions as a skill that protects one's mind from the effects of poison, curses and magic.
However, many organizations that encourage the acquisition of this skill are connected to underground organizations or are underground organizations themselves. In urban areas, this skill is considered to be an illness, and specialized facilities exist to treat it.
Many individuals who possess this skill are abnormal sadists and murderers, soldiers and adventurers who have experienced horrific battles and assassins who have become unable to feel discomfort and guilt when killing people. However, as there are also many artists and inventors who possessed the skill and have left behind their names and deeds in history books, there are few cases where one is imprisoned simply for possessing the skill.
Chapter 11: Did you think you'd saved a beautiful girl?
That day, Zadiris was holding a study meeting with the young girls from the village to teach them about grasses, fruits and mushrooms that could be used for making medicine or food.
Many of the race that Zadiris and her group belonged to did not place a high priority on passing on their knowledge, but she knew the importance of teaching the younger generation these things and often talked about it to the people around her, so the people of her village were likely aware as well.
The reason she was only bringing girls with her was the great difference in appearance and characteristics between the two sexes in her race. Males were well-suited to fighting and manual labor, while women did work that required thinking. Though this was a general rule, she had already taught the smarter men in the village enough, so she didn't bring them with her today.
Of course, just because monsters weren't attacking didn't mean that she let her guard down. Zadiris herself was confident in her strength and magic, and their study meeting was happening just at the edge of the forest. Strong monsters wouldn't appear, and at this time of year, adventurers shouldn't come this way either.
「She went that way!」
「Sheet, she's fast! Don't let her get away!」
However, the reason things had turned out like this was because she had let her guard down after all.
They were found by a group of five adventurers.
「Be careful, she's a Mage, a high-class one! Don't let your guard down!」
「I know! We let all of the others escape; if we don't catch this one we won't make it through the winter!」
Zadiris had succeeded in using her magic to confuse the adventurers and allow the other girls to escape. However, she had expended too much Mana in doing so - to the point that it would be difficult to defeat the adventurers if she fought them now.
With that being, the case, her only option was to run, but -
「Haah, haah, haah.」
Her breathing became quick, like that of a dog or a wild animal. Her heart was pounding painfully, but she couldn't do anything about it.
『To think that I've run out of breath already! I guess I can't win against time.』
As Zadiris lamented her old age, an arrow flew across just to her side. As the adventurers took aim at her, she reflexively spun her body to the right.
「AH!」
Three seconds later, her feet were standing on empty air. She was at the edge of a cliff. It was a small cliff on the boundary of the forest. It was a cliff of a height such that one wouldn't die by jumping off it, and one would normally be able to make a safe landing in the forest.
However, this time it was fatal.
Zadiris, losing her balance, hit the cliff's slope like a ball and began rolling down.
「Ugh…」
She crashed into the ground and landed face-down. She tried to stand up, but she couldn't put any strength into her legs and arms. Despite the fact that her life was in danger, they demanded rest and refused to obey her commands.
She was already winded, but this was the effect of leaving the Devil's Nest. She was really feeling her age taking its toll on her.
『Well, this is fine. The clan will not perish just because I am gone.』
Her successor had already been nominated. There were reliable men. She had managed to let the young ones with the future on their shoulders escape.
Considering that she had only ten years or so remaining in her life, hadn't she done pretty well? It was probably better for her to die already, before she became any more senile than she already was.
Several laughing voices and sets of footsteps came closer. It was the adventurers. From here, they would certainly finish her off and collect the Magic Stone and her body parts that would become raw materials.
She didn't really care about this; she had done the same thing countless times herself. She hadn't gone out of her way to do so, but she had even killed adventurers in the past.
She harbored no grudge against them. They should finish her quickly.
Zadiris quietly stayed face-down and closed her eyes, but the adventurers grabbed her legs and turned her face-up.
If they wanted to kill her, they could have stabbed her in the back, so why? As Zadiris thought this, she opened her eyes to see the adventurers looking down at her with vulgar smiles on their faces.
「Heh, I thought this while we were chasing her, but isn't she quite the pretty woman?」
「You think so? I like mine a little more grown-up.」
「Nobody asked about what you like. What's important is whether we'll be able to sell her at a high price.」
Zadiris had thought that they were perhaps inspecting the materials that they would be harvesting before they killed her, but upon hearing the word "sell", she realized that this was not the case.
「The females of these creatures can be sold to underground slave traders for quite a lot. Thanks to that, we'll be able to take it easy during this year's winter.」
The adventurers hadn't been chasing her around to kill her and harvest raw materials from her, but to capture her alive and sell her to a slave trader.
Zadiris opened her eyes wide. Being defeated and killed was one thing, but she wouldn't allow herself to become a sex slave and treated as a plaything until she died.
「You bastards!」
「Oh, she understands language. I suppose that's to be expected of Mages; this one should sell for even more than the market price.」
Zadiris bared her fangs and glared at them, but the smiles of the adventurers looking down on her only widened. She mustered what was left of her strength and tried to take at least one of them down, but one of the adventurers stabbed her with a knife.
「Guh! Ah, AAAAAAAAAGH!」
Violent pain flooded through Zadiris's body.
Her vision turned pure white, and she couldn't help but let out a girlish scream.
「It hurts, huh? You guys are pretty tough when it comes to dealing with pain, but this knife is a Magic Item with the Pain Up enchantment; being cut by this knife will hurt three times more than usual.」
「A little while ago, we caught a bandit and all we had to do was give him a light cut with this knife for him to spit out where his base was.」
「Guh… Haah… Haah…」
By the time Zadiris had recovered a little from the violent pain, her willpower fell along with the tears from her eyes.
「Heheh, I bet you've done it plenty, right? With that being the case, isn't it alright to have a taste of the goods before we sell you off?」
「Hey, if you're not careful, you're going to get scratched.」
「It's fine, but don't go overboard. And be quick about it, it'll be a pain if other monsters were to come.」
One of the adventurers lowered himself onto Zadiris to straddle her and began taking off her clothes. He exposed her grey-brown breasts and grabbed hold of them, but she didn't give the response that the man desired.
「Tch.」
Dissatisfied, the man reached for the knife that was still stuck inside Zadiris.
「Hyii!」
Thinking that she would experience that intense pain again, Zadiris tried to scream, but -
「Gyah!」
The Thief that had been watching to make sure that no monsters came out of the forest gave a hoarse grunt.
There was an arrow protruding from the Thief's back. Zadiris immediately thought that her allies from the village had come to save her. It seemed the adventurers thought the same.
「They've come to save her?!」
Including the man that was straddling Zadiris, the Warriors among the adventurers pulled out their weapons and faced the forest. However, the robed Mage gave a shout as he pulled the arrow out from the Thief.
「You morons! It didn't come from the forest, it's from behind us!」
Before the Mage's eyes was a carriage moving at incredible speed while making very little sound, and a group of beasts made of bones.
「Undead monsters?! Why are they coming from the plain and not from the Devil's Nest?!」
「Who cares! More importantly, there's one of them with a bow and arrows, hurry up and get in front of me!」
Shouting at his flustered shield-holding companion, the Thief who had managed to avoid a fatal wound thanks to his leather armor put a Potion to his mouth.
And as the adventurers prepared to have him recover from his injury, Vandalieu's army attacked. Bone Man nocked another arrow into his bow and fired a second shot, but the Thief managed to dodge it. It couldn't be helped, as Bone Man's skill with the bow was level 1.
Vandalieu's options for long-ranged attacks were too limited. Perhaps he should have had Saria and Rita learn archery as well.
As this thought ran through his mind, he released his spell towards the Mage who seemed to be chanting an incantation.
「…[Magic Absorption Barrier.]」
A black mass of Mana flew towards the Mage. He immediately tried to block it with some kind of defensive spell, but the black mass absorbed and nullified it completely.
「Uwah! That Ghost Carriage used some kind of strange magic! What the hell is this?!」
The black mass covered the Mage like a dome, but for now, it seemed that it wasn't doing him any damage.
「Don't worry about that, hurry up and chant your spell!」
The ones at the front holding swords, spears, axes and shields stepped forward to meet the enemy, but in the next moment, their well-prepared front-line crumbled.
『Haah! If you will not fall back, then I shall trample you!』
Sam, sitting in the driver's seat of the Ghost Carriage, gave a shout as he ordered an increase in speed. The faint, white horses gave a neigh as the carriage closed in on them at incredible speed.
『CHAAAARGE!』
「RUUUUN!」
As the man with the shield gave a shout, the adventurers all jumped out of the way of Sam's path. No matter how powerful their defense was, even if they possessed shielding techniques such as[Stone Shield]and[Stone Wall], they wouldn't be able to stop the [High-Speed Travel]+[Charge]combo of Sam, a three-horse carriage.
Because they reacted quickly, they succeeded in avoiding Sam in time, and Sam performed a magnificent drift turn just two meters away from Zadiris's feet. This was something that he was only able to do because the spirit horses were a part of him.
The carriage should have been shaking violently, but thanks to the[Impact Resistance]skill, everyone inside was able to remain standing with the exception of Vandalieu.
「Gaaaah!」
「Guoooh!」
And as the adventurers' formation collapsed, Bone Wolf, Bone Bear and Bone Monkey attacked. The adventurers seemed quite skilled; each of them managed to avoid the first attack and retake their stances with their weapons ready.
「Geeeeh!」
「Ooooooh.」
With Bone Bird's Talon attacks coming from above and Bone Man joining the fray after leaping out of the carriage, things weren't just looking bad for them; it was downright disastrous.
「What are Rank 3 monsters doing outside the Devil's Nest?!」
「How the hell should I know?! 「[Single Flash!]」
「Oi, how long is that support magic going to take?!」
One of the men somehow managed to block a swing of Bone Bear's front paw that was powerful enough to break his shield, another had his basic swordsmanship skill[Single Brandish]avoided by Bone Monkey, and the last was shouting at the Mage that seemed to be taking forever to cast his support magic without turning back to look at him.
「O flames, gather forth in my hand… It's no good! My magic, my Mana is being absorbed so I can't use magic!」
The Mage was clearly chanting a spell, but every time he drew his Mana forth from inside his body, it was taken away from him. That was the effect of Vandalieu's[Magic Absorption Barrier.]If one attempted to use magic within the barrier, the Mana was stolen away before the spell could be completed.
To overcome the effects of such a barrier, one must release a sheer amount of Mana that the barrier simply couldn't absorb, use an anti-barrier spell or simply move at a speed at which the barrier cannot follow him. But only a master Mage would be able to overcome the Barrier that Vandalieu had poured an overwhelming amount of Mana into.
Of course, it was impossible for this Mage with his current mana pool and magic.
「Damn it! What's with this guy?! Where am I supposed to attack?!」
On one side, the Thief was fighting against Saria and Rita. Normally, the Thief with inferior pure fighting ability would be at a disadvantage fighting against two monsters head-on.
However, Saria and Rita were barely able to swing their weapons, and it was not difficult for the agile Thief to avoid their attacks.
But it was difficult for the Thief to attack them with his dagger. If they were normal Living Armors, defeating them would be simple. By inserting the dagger into the gaps between the armor pieces and destroying the joint between the helmet and the torso, he would be able to separate them into pieces.
Unfortunately for him, neither Saria nor Rita possessed a helmet portion. In Rita's case, the torso proportion of the armor was already separated into two pieces.
Trying to separate the armors into pieces would be impossible, as the Living High-Leg Armor and Living Bikini Armor were already in pieces.
「Where's the head, where are the vital points, godd*mn it! Gyah!」
He tried to stay calm, but his companions at the front were at a disadvantage already. Their Mage had been made useless. And then the bewildered Thief let out a scream that sounded like a dog as Sam sent him flying like a rubber ball.
The adventurers, given no chance to turn the battle back around, lay on the ground as corpses.
The only casualties for Vandalieu's party were several broken bones on Bone Wolf and Bone Bear, and Vandalieu's own injury that he sustained while rolling around in the carriage.
『I-I am terribly sorry, Bocchan.』
「… I said it's fine. It'll heal soon anyway.」
There was a deep, bleeding gash on Vandalieu's forehead, but as he possessed the[Rapid Healing]skill, it would heal within a few days.
As for the broken bones, they were easily repaired as Vandalieu had recently discovered that he can use death-attribute magic to restore them.
In the end, their losses were basically non-existent.
「Fuh, looks like I need to reflect upon my actions.」
However, Vandalieu was reflecting on his rash decision to attack these adventurers.
The reason he won this battle easily was because his surprise attack had gone well, he had used death-attribute magic that they had never seen before and because they weren't all that skilled.
He had checked the Guild Cards that were the identification documents issued by the Adventurers' Guild, and according to those, these adventurers were D-class. If they had been Class or higher, it was likely that he would have had the tables turned on him.
Attacking adventurers whose strength he couldn't judge at a glance was a dangerous move.
However, the option of leaving a girl to be attacked by these thugs was out of the question.
「Next time, we'll do our surprise attack better.」
End of self-reflection.
Leaving the tasks of stripping the adventurers of their belongings, taking care of their corpses and gathering information from their spirits until later, the first thing to do was to help the girl who had been attacked.
When he had used his[Sense Life]earlier, she had not been in a state where she might die soon, but she had been greatly weakened. This was where the Potions that he had acquired in the Dungeon that he had kept just in case came in handy.
「Ugh…」
Zadiris was fully prepared to be killed at this point. It was not her allies who had killed the adventurers, but Undead. So she thought that the Undead would kill her next.
「Are you alright?」
So she had thought, but time passed and the Undead didn't attack her. Not only that, but an infant with blood dripping from his forehead was speaking to her.
She was astonished, bewildered and fearful that this infant might be some kind of dead person's ghost. And because of the strong, stinging pain from the wound in which the knife was still inserted, she was unable to answer his question.
As Vandalieu looked down at Zadiris, he thought,「Her skin color is unusual, but she is a cute girl, huh.」
She seemed to be in her mid or late teenage years. Her lovely features and wet eyes made Vandalieu want to protect her. Her physical appearance was such that she would have easily been able to make a debut as an idol on Earth.
Her grey-brown skin was unusual, but this was another world, after all. It might not even be considered unusual here.
Even her exposed breasts -
『Ah, I shouldn't look at any more than that.』
Vandalieu quickly averted his eyes away from the girl's chest. Leaving his mental age aside, his physical body was that of an infant, so fortunately he had not yet experienced sexual desire, though it would have been fine as long as his gaze didn't become a lewd one.
Well, his eyes were as lifeless as those of the Undead, and his gaze instilled fear more than embarrassment and disgust.
Not realizing this, Vandalieu thought that the treatment of her wound came first, and reached out for the handle of the knife.
「Wait, stop…!」
But this knife was a Magic Item that increased the pain it inflicted. Knowing that pulling it out would cause that violent pain once more, Zadiris tried to stop Vandalieu's hand.
「…[Painlessness.]」
Knowing that she was in pain, Vandalieu used death-attribute magic to erase the pain that she experienced.
「?!」
As Zadiris was bewildered by the sudden disappearance of the pain, Vandalieu pulled the knife from her abdomen in one movement. And then he poured the 3rd-class Potion on the wound.
The wound closed in a ridiculous fashion. The deep opening that pierced through her flesh closed before his very eyes to become new, smooth skin. There was not even the slightest sign that there had been a wound there.
Surgically treating such a wound and the plastic surgery required to remove the scar left afterwards on Earth would take a great deal of time and effort, but on Lambda, it was done by applying a single Potion. In this regard, Lambda was more advanced than Earth, thought Vandalieu.
Though he probably wouldn't have thought so if he knew just how much that 3rd-class Potion was worth.
「My name is Vandalieu. Should I prepare water to wash your body and clothes to change into?」
He spoke to the girl looking up at him with a dumbfounded expression. She was probably in a state of shock; it was to be expected, as she had just been stabbed by a thug and almost raped.
『On Earth, a female police officer would handle this kind of situation…』
The only females here were Darcia (whom only Vandalieu and the Undead could see), and Saria and Rita (who simply appeared to be floating suits of armor, so one might not immediately assume that they were females). Therefore, by process of elimination, the only one who could offer Zadiris support was Vandalieu.
(Though I think that I'm definitely the wrong person in the wrong place for this job.)
In both lifetimes on Earth and in Origin, he hadn't really interacted with members of the opposite sex, so there was no way that he could handle a delicate task like supporting a sexual assault victim.
As if proving this correct, tears welled up in the girl's eyes. Her face had been wet with tears and sweat since before her wound was healed, but she appeared as if she was going to burst into tears again.
「Ugh… Uwaaaaaah!」
And sure enough, she burst into tears and held onto Vandalieu tightly.
She was so forceful that Saria and Rita reflexively attempted to recover Vandalieu from Zadiris's arms. Vandalieu waved them down with his hand, and was being hugged at her mercy… That wasn't quite right.
She was much stronger than she appeared.
She wasn't forceful enough to break his bones, but it was hard to breathe. Her fingernails were digging into him.
(It's quite painful… But it's nothing compared to the reconstruction surgery and human experiments I endured in Origin.)
He tried to endure it, but he really didn't have the freedom to be happy about being hugged by a cute girl.
「You really saved me. You saved my life. Not only did you defeat the adventurers, but you even used a precious Potion on my wound, I do not know how to thank you.」
「I see…」
Vandalieu and his party were making their way through the Devil's Nest. They had waited until Zadiris had calmed down, stripped the adventurers of their equipment and then ventured into the Devil's Nest.
「My apologies, the village is a little further.」
In order to take Zadiris home.
The reason that her village was in the middle of a Devil's Nest ruled by monsters was that she belonged to a race generally considered to be monsters.
「We Ghouls are resistant to pain, but that Magic Item put me through hell. On top of that, they were going to turn me into a sex slave and sell me off… Humans are scary.」
Indeed, Zadiris was a Ghoul.
Judging from the color of her skin, Vandalieu had thought that she might not be one of the races of people, but he hadn't imagined that she would be a Ghoul.
However, as Vandalieu sat in Zadiris's lap wrapped in her arms, he felt uncomfortable with just how different she was to the image of Ghouls that he had in his mind.
「Ghouls are not Undead?」
The image of Ghouls in Vandalieu's mind was that of Undead monsters with long claws and fangs, strength greater than that of Zombies, and a love for feasting on dead flesh.
However, he could feel the comforting warmth from her body that he hadn't felt since Darcia had died, and his[Sense Life]skill detected life in her. She might not be a human, but she was definitely a living creature.
『Bocchan, we ordinary people are told that Ghouls are higher-class Zombies, not very different from Vampires.』
According to Sam, Ghouls were treated like an inferior species of Vampires. They lived and had children. However, they were powerful monsters that attacked people, had great physical strength and resistance to pain and secreted venom at the claws of their hands and feet.
And they apparently turned freshly-killed corpses into members of their own kind in some evil ceremony.
「Hmm, we are not higher-class Zombies, but you are half-correct, Sam.」
But according to Zadiris, the reality was quite different.
Ghouls were apparently not an inferior species of Vampire, but their lesser relatives.
「To put it simply, the founder of us Ghouls was the twin brother of the founder of Vampires, or perhaps his younger sister. That means that Ghouls are also children of the goddess Vida.」
「But Ghouls weren't mentioned in the legend that Mom told me?」
「Well, I do not know the details, but this is something I heard from the eldest member of the generation before last.」
According to the legend that Vandalieu heard from Darcia, Vida birthed Lamias, Scyllas, Harpies, Arachne and Centaurs, but nothing about Ghouls being among those monsters.
Well, it wasn't like Darcia knew everything, and it was the kind of story whose contents would differ slightly from region to region.
It seemed that the Ghouls of Zadiris's village believed in Zadiris's story… But that didn't mean that they were particularly friendly towards humans. Nobody would want to try to become friends with people that branded them as monsters and tried to kill them.
In fact, Zadiris had killed numerous adventurers in the past, and lost companions to them.
「But to think that they would sell me as a sex slave. If I was simply going to be killed, I would have accepted it and given up.」
Becoming a target for the sexual desires of humans had apparently been a shocking experience for Zadiris. However, unbeknownst to her, the reality was that this kind of thing was not unusual in underground societies.
If a monster species existed that only differed from humans by their skin tone and a small part of their bodies, then it was only natural that humans would think to buy and sell the females of that species as sex slaves.
「For heaven's sake, it is not as if they would think the same about a female Orc. Do you not agree?」
In response to this question, Vandalieu looked up at her and shook his head sideways.
「I think you are very attractive.」
Even after learning that Zadiris was a Ghoul and re-evaluating her, she was still lovely in Vandalieu's eyes.
He thought that her yellow pupils and grey-brown skin were exotic, and her fangs resembled yaeba* so he found them cute. With her young-looking, curved cheeks and captivating lips, it wouldn't have been strange if she became Vandalieu's first love if he had been a little older.
Vandalieu felt like he was missing out, but putting that aside, Zadiris would have been worth an incredible amount as a slave.
「So it is possible that those men attacked you not because they are fine with any women, but because they had their eyes on you from the very beginning. You should be careful from now on… Is something wrong?」
「No, it is nothing.」
In response to Vandalieu saying that she was attractive, Zadiris's heart began to throb violently for some reason.
Despite thinking, (Wait, wait, what am I thinking about a child young enough to be called a baby?), her heart didn't stop pounding.
(What a strange boy. He commands the Undead and uses unknown magic. And when he stares at me directly, I feel strange… Could this be the charming gaze of the Vampires?!)
Her knowledge about Dhampirs was far from complete, so she somewhat misunderstood her own feelings towards Vandalieu.
「It seems that is indeed the case; I shall have to take care from now on. I must also warn the women of the village. Someone like me with few years left to live was targeted; there is no guarantee that the younger ones will not be targeted as well.」
Zadiris was the eldest member of the Ghoul community. She was apparently two hundred and ninety years old this year. And the lifespan of a Ghoul was apparently three hundred years. It seemed that she was not lying when she said that she didn't have long to live.
When Vandalieu had used his[Sense Life]skill, he had felt a weak reaction from Zadiris. This was not because of the knife that she had been stabbed by at the time, but because of her age.
「… Though I don't think adventurers would be able to tell a Ghoul's true age.」
Though she had the lively skin of a teenager without a single wrinkle, Zadiris gave a sigh as Vandalieu said this to her.
「Hmm, I suppose one becomes accustomed to this fact as one lives life as a Ghoul. Us Ghoul women's physical appearance stops changing at the age we bear our first child, but most people in the village have a good idea of how old the women are. Hmm? What is wrong, boy? Are you sleepy?」
「No…」
Vandalieu looked down and sighed, feeling disappointment in response to Zadiris's words for a reason that he himself didn't know.
「Is that so? In that case, I would like you to promise me something now… Would you keep the fact that I sobbed like a small girl a secret? Of course, Sam-dono as well.」
「I don't mind.」
『I simply obey Bocchan's commands.』
「Hmm, my endless thanks. Ah, it seems that something has approached us while we were talking.」
Though they had been having calm conversation, Vandalieu's party was traveling through a Devil's Nest right now. It was inhabited by monsters in far greater density and numbers than in ordinary forests and wastelands. But as Bone Man and Bone Wolf were guarding Sam's surroundings, only a single foolish Goblin had attacked them and been quickly cut down.
Using[Sense Life]as Zadiris instructed him to, he felt reactions from about a dozen human-sized or slightly larger creatures about fifty meters ahead. However, there was no reaction from the constantly-active[Danger Sense: Death], so it seemed that it was not a group of bloodthirsty monsters waiting to ambush them.
『Bocchan?』
「Just keep going forward for now, I suppose.」
Because they were in a forest, having Bone Bird scout from the sky was likely to be ineffective, so he simply decided to wait and see what would happen. From the shadows of the trees and bushes, monsters emerged.
The monsters had a roughly human-like shape. However, their heads were those of lions - proud, ferocious-looking kings of the forest with bare fangs and disheveled manes.
The skin below their necks was grey-brown, and the length of their arms stood out to the eye - their arms were so long that their fingers would reach the ground even if they stretched their backs up to stand up straight. However, one could also not overlook the fact they possessed the tough, flexible musculature of wild carnivores.
Even though the Goblins were humanoid monsters just like them, these were clearly different from Goblins.
However, for some reason, these monsters approached not with the intent to kill, but feelings of bewilderment.
「Ah, everyone, you have come out to greet me.」
With those words, Zadiris stood up, still holding Vandalieu in her arms.
「Elder-sama, we were going to help… But why have you brought Undead with you?」
「We are happy that you are safe… But what are these things?」
The monsters spoke with a low tone that sounded like growling, but also quite skillfully considering that they were doing so with the mouths of lions. As Vandalieu was feeling just as bewildered as they were about the current situation, Sam whispered to him.
『Bocchan, I have heard that Ghoul male and fe… Men and women are greatly different in their appearances. Though this is my first time seeing it for myself.』
Zadiris completely resembled a human other than her fangs and the color of her skin. But on the other hand, the appearance of the men was not human at all, even though they were all of the same race.
「Yes, I was in danger when adventurers attacked me, but I was saved by this boy. The Undead are under this boy's command.」
「That small boy defeated the adventurers?!」
「And he commands the Undead…?」
In response to Zadiris's words, the Ghoul men exchanged looks of disbelief. Well, even Vandalieu thought that the truth would be difficult to believe right away.
And then an enormous Ghoul appeared from deeper within the forest, even larger than the other male Ghouls, standing two meters tall.
He was wearing leather armor made from the hide of a monster, and his mane was adorned with a brilliant bird-feather decoration.
On his back, he carried an enormous battleaxe that looked as if it could cut a bear in half. This Ghoul was likely the leader among the males.
「Vigaro, you came out as well. I have told you many times that the chief of the village should not leave it so easily.」
「You're still the chief, Zadiris. If the chief is in danger, then it's only normal for me, the leader of the warriors, to step forth.」
「You are the effective chief. Even if I die, as long as you are still here, the village will thrive on.」
「Effective chief? The village will thrive on?* What kind of nonsense are you saying? Did you hit your head when the adventurers attacked you?」
「… I will retract my words. You clueless fool, you shall need to train that brain of yours for a while later.」
「Retract? I'll have you know, I've been training my brain. And before that, I defeated an Orc with a head-butt!」
As Vigaro threw out his chest with pride, Zadiris gave a deep sigh. Her breath tickled the back of Vandalieu's head. Still, the Ghoul called Vigaro possessed log-like upper arms. How did one acquire that much muscle? Vandalieu really wanted to know.
「So what are you planning to do with that child?」
「Of course, we will make him welcome at our village. This boy is very generous; he says that he will even provide the meat for us to have a banquet. There is no problem with that, is there?」
「Grr…」
Vigaro tilted his head in response to Zadiris's reply. In normal circumstances, she would never allow a member of another race to enter the village, even if he had saved her life.
In the first place, since the Ghouls lived in a Devil's Nest, every other species existed simply as their enemies and prey. It wasn't unusual for Ghouls of separate villages to kill each other in some cases.
That was why Zadiris and Vigaro advocated for the exclusion of outsiders. For the sake of survival, this was the correct choice.
Vigaro had noticed that Vandalieu was a Dhampir. He was also interested in the meat that Vandalieu was supposedly offering. However, his feelings of danger about having the location of the village known by an outsider were stronger.
He felt no hostility at all from Vandalieu, who was looking up at Zadiris with eyes as lifeless as the eyeballs floating in Orc soup… No, something was strange.
He wanted those dead-looking eyes to look at him; he wanted to do something for this child. Vigaro consciously realized that he was beginning to feel this way.
「If it's too much trouble, then we can just be on our way…」
As Vandalieu said those words, Vigaro and the Ghoul men under his command let out a small growl as they felt the sensation of their chests tightening. They felt feelings of guilt, as well as discomfort at the fact that Vandalieu would simply leave if they did not stop him.
「It's not too much trouble! We'll lead you to our village, please let us welcome you there!」
Vigaro immediately shouted this response. The other men cheered in agreement.
「Vandalieu, you're our guest, so we'll welcome you. GRRRRRRRRR!」
And then Vigaro looked up at the sky and let out a beast-like roar. As Vandalieu was shocked by the loud roar that caused the air to vibrate, Zadiris spoke to him.
「He is communicating with the people in the village. He is telling them that the chief is safe, there is a guest coming and that they should make preparations for a feast.」
And so Vandalieu was welcomed into a friendly community for the first time in his life.
Name: Zadiris
Rank: 5
Race: Ghoul Mage
Level: 100
Job: None
Job level: 100
Job history: None
Age: 290 years old
Passive skills:
Night Vision
Pain Resistance: Level 3
Superhuman Strength: Level 1
Paralyzing Venom Secretion (Claws): Level 2
Increased Mana Recovery Rate: Level 4
Active skills:
Light-Attribute Magic: Level 4
Wind-Attribute Magic: Level 2
No-Attribute Magic: Level 2
Mana Control: Level 5
Alchemy: Level 2
Status Effects:
Old age
Monster Explanation:
[Ghoul Mages]
These are Ghouls that have learned magic past a certain level. Their skills are beyond those of inexperienced adventurers, and they are still excellent at close-quarters combat due to their physical ability and the paralyzing venom of their claws.
They are more intelligent than other Ghouls; most Ghoul Mages are in high societal positions such as being the head of a family or a staff officer. Because of this, there are almost none that act on their own, and they often have multiple subordinate Ghouls serving them. For this reason, the Adventurers' Guild recommends that adventurers form parties if they are planning to eliminate them.
The item that one uses to prove that he has eliminated a Ghoul Mage is the Ghoul's right ear. Materials that can be harvested include the claws of all four limbs, the eyeballs and tongues that are infused with Mana, the liver which can be used in medicines, and the spinal cord which can be used as a catalyst in alchemy. Ghoul Mages are among the most dangerous of Rank 5 monsters, so there are many adventurers who believe that the reward for eliminating them and the amount that the ingredients sell for is not worth the effort.
As many Ghoul Mages are female, they are worth a lot in the underground slave market. However, selling them this way requires one to capture them alive, which is more dangerous and more often than not, the Ghoul Mage can turn the tables on the hunter. The Ghoul Mages bought and sold in the underground market often teach magic to the other female Ghouls, causing them to increase their rank.
In order to increase in rank and become a Ghoul Mage, a Ghoul requires a level 3 skill in at least one attribute of magic.
Zadiris possesses excellent mastery over magic for a Ghoul Mage, but her Stamina and Mana have declined as a result of her own age, which means that her effectiveness in combat has significantly decreased.