The Death Mage Who Doesn’t Want a Fourth Time The Death Mage That Doesn't Want A Fourth Time 81

That morning, there was a somewhat restless atmosphere around Duke Hartner’s castle.

The current Duke Hartner was completely bedridden, conscious for perhaps only a few hours a day.

But the conflict was deepening between the two brothers competing to be the heir who was to act in the duke’s stead.

The domestic affairs party advocating that the most important thing was protecting the Hartner Duchy from the Empire and that the duchy’s army was nothing more than a s.h.i.+eld for that purpose. It was Led by Lord Belton, the duke’s second son, born to his legal wife.

The advocates of war arguing that the Amid Empire should be attacked and the Sauron Duchy recovered in order to bring even further prosperity to the Hartner Duchy. They were led by Lord Lucas, the duke’s eldest son, born to his concubine.

Normally, Lord Belton would be overwhelmingly favored in this dispute, but with the Hartner Duchy having become the frontline in the war against the Amid Empire, Lord Lucas’s influence had grown significantly with the army’s support.

Before, the people had thought it ideal if Belton acted as the head of house and made use of his shrewdness for managing domestic affairs while Lucas used his tactical genius to lead the army. But now, though their numbers were still small, there was a growing number of people saying that Lucas should act as the head of house and take bold actions with the army, with Belton staying in the duchy and supporting him.

Normally, it wouldn’t matter what the ma.s.ses said; once the current head of family named his heir, the dispute over who would succeed him would end. But the current Duke Hartner said something different every time he opened his eyes; despite appearing conscious, it was questionable as to whether he hadn’t gone senile, so even his va.s.sals were at the end of their wits.

As a result, the duchy was divided into Belton’s faction and Lucas’s faction, as well as a third faction in the middle comprised of people who simply did their daily work without being concerned, as they didn’t stand to gain or lose anything no matter who succeeded the duke.

Of course, this had created a strained atmosphere, but the situation had been ongoing for a long time, so the servants were all completely accustomed to it by now.

“Belton-sama, I have a little something I would like to discuss.”

Lord Belton, who had been heading towards the dining hall to eat an early breakfast, was called out by Baron Ikus, one of his trusted confidants. Baron Ikus was an honorary n.o.bleman serving as a civil official. Though he was a subordinate of the finance minister of Lucas’s faction who was trying to use the war to stimulate the economy, Ikus himself was on Belton’s side.

Of course, this was only true because he was expecting a promotion and an increase in his court rank once Belton became duke.

“What is it, Baron Ikus?” asked Lord Belton.

“It seems that the Mages’ Guild has been behaving strangely as of late,” Baron Ikus reported. “The Guild Master Kinarp and several of the higher-ranking members are always inattentive no matter what people try, and it appears that several of their guards have gone missing.”

“Oh dear,” Lord Belton whispered quietly. The Mages’ Guild was one of his bases of support. Although each Guild took an official stance of political neutrality, the support of the Mages’ Guild, which was developing all kinds of Magic Items and producing exceptional mages in large numbers, couldn’t be ignored given the current situation.

Belton’s policy was that the maintenance of public order and the extermination of monsters should be left to the guards and knights, so he was particularly unpopular with the Adventurers’ Guild. Bribing the Guild Master of the Guild headquarters was proving effective, but it was still true that there were many in the Guild branches of each region who held animosity towards him. Belton did want to maintain his support from the other Guilds and the Churches in order to compensate for this, however.

“Is this Ani-ue’s* doing?”

TLN*: For those who don’t know, this is a fancy/polite honorific for “older brother.”

Had Lord Lucas’s subordinates bribed them? Or were they being blackmailed in some way, perhaps? This was what Lord Belton was asking with his brief question.

“That does not appear to be the case,” Baron Ikus replied. “We were not able to confirm any movements from Lucas-sama’s subordinates. But we have been receiving some curious reports. I believe I can provide further information on these once they have been confirmed.”

“I understand,” said Lord Belton. “Baron Ikus, I am sorry for making you work so hard, but I will be counting on you.”

“Yes, sir.” Baron Ikus left with a bow.

He was a man who excelled at gathering information using spies. No matter what happened, he would be able to thoroughly investigate matters and provide good reports.

Lord Belton watched as Baron Ikus walked away, holding high expectations of him.

Suddenly, without warning, Lord Belton felt a small tremor at his feet.

“An earthquake?” he wondered.

It is small, but earthquakes are rare. No sooner had this thought crossed his mind, the tremor grew larger, accompanied by a thunderous noise.

A large hole appeared in the floor right below Baron Ikus, and he screamed as he fell into it helplessly.

“B-BAROOON?!” Lord Belton shouted.

“Belton-sama, it is too dangerous, please get back! Please get back!” One of Lord Belton’s servants, who had been accompanying him silently like a shadow, hastily stepped forward to pull him to safety.

On this day, Duke Hartner’s castle sank slightly, in a physical manner.

『The levels of the Carpentry, Engineering and Golem Trans.m.u.tation skills have increased!』

Kinarp, the man serving as the Mage’s Guild’s Guild Master, was startled as he regained consciousness.

“W-what on earth have I been doing?”

He looked around him to see the higher-ranking members of the Mages’ Guild, wearing similarly astonished expressions… Among them were some of his accomplices who had connections to the subordinates of the Pure-breed Vampire Ternecia, though he wouldn’t call them his comrades.

“Kinarp-dono, where is this place?”

“W-what were we doing? I-I cannot remember anything.”

“Calm down, everyone,” said Kinarp. “This is my mansion.”

Kinarp had almost no memory of the past few days. However, he hadn’t lost sight of what he was supposed to do.

“Remember, everyone. There is something that we must do,” he said.

“Something that we must do… That’s right, there is!”

“We cannot stay here; we must hurry!”

“Wait, we must not be hasty! If we are not careful, everything will be put to waste!”

“Now then, everyone, gather all of the necessary evidence and entrust them to those you trust,” Kinarp instructed. “You must not give them to the subordinates of Belton-sama or Lucas-sama; they could hush it all up.”

“Indeed, even if they are in conflict with each other, they would cooperate to conceal anything that would put a stain on the Hartner family’s name.”

“Then should we take them to amba.s.sadors of other duchies?”

“There are no other options. Now then, get moving!”

After that, Kinarp and the others gathered all evidence of their crime and underhanded dealings and hurried to the emba.s.sy, where amba.s.sadors from other duchies were working.

They were obeying the command that had been burned into their minds: “Confess your evil deeds and reveal them to the world.”

An investigation was carried out to discover the cause of the incident where Duke Hartner’s castle sank and caused serious injury to Baron Ikus. Some time later, it became clear that it was the collapse of the underground s.p.a.ce beneath the castle, commonly known as the “underground cemetery.”

Why had this place, which had existed since over a hundred thousand years ago, long before the construction of the castle, suddenly collapsed? It was determined to be the work of the man whose corpse was found there, the one known as “Kaidou Kanata.”

This man had stolen from merchants and released an advanced fire-attribute spell in the Adventurers’ Guild, causing many casualties. Considering his unusual actions, it was concluded that he must have been a subordinate of an evil G.o.d.

Plotting to resurrect the Demon King, he had somehow broken the champion’s seal. But he had died, probably due to a conflict with his allies or some accident that occurred when the seal was removed.

Perhaps due to anxiety, the current Duke Hartner’s condition worsened upon learning of this incident. He had been waking up at least once every few days, but now he had been reduced to incoherent muttering. At this rate, it was unlikely that he would live to see next year’s spring.

In addition to this, some of the high-ranking members of the Mages’ Guild that had been supporting Lord Belton, including the Guild Master Kinarp, had run to amba.s.sadors dispatched from other duchies with evidence of the various crimes they had committed and evidence of their collaboration with the Pure-breed Vampires who wors.h.i.+pped the evil G.o.ds. This had caused great shock to the important figures in the Orbaume Kingdom.

Prominent supporters of Lord Belton, who previously had a ninety percent chance of being named the successor of the Hartner family, had revealed themselves to be traitors to humanity. And thanks to the evidence that Kinarp and his subordinates had handed to the amba.s.sadors, it had become clear that Baron Ikus, who had yet to regain consciousness, had connections to the Vampires as well.

Lord Belton himself had testified that he hadn’t known about this, and there was indeed no evidence proving that he had connections to the Vampires, but now, not only the n.o.blemen of the Hartner Duchy, but all of the influential n.o.blemen of the Orbaume Kingdom, had begun to doubt Lord Belton’s leaders.h.i.+p abilities.

Also, someone had broken into the duke’s treasure storage room and stolen several treasures, but due to the aforementioned matters being of greater concern, it had been dealt with too late and the investigation wasn’t carried out properly.

Incidentally, some had testified to seeing an enormous, ominous bird flying through the night sky, but none had taken them seriously, a.s.suming that these people had simply gotten drunk and seen things.

Alda, the G.o.d of law and fate, was facing multiple difficult problems. The biggest of them was that Vandalieu, whom Alda had thought would spend at least several years hiding in the southern region of the Bahn Gaia continent, had crossed the mountain range and appeared on the eastern side.

Well, it seemed that he was doing some honest missionary work rather than plotting some large-scale conspiracy, however.

“Alda-sama, what could this person be thinking? I do not believe it likely that he truly wishes to become an adventurer.”

“I do not know… Is he trying to create a base for his activities in the Orbaume Kingdom?”

The intelligence network for Alda and his subordinate G.o.ds were the believers who wors.h.i.+pped them. Thus, it was impossible for Alda and his subordinates to know what these believers did not know. Normally, they would do things such as dispatching Familiar Spirits to the world’s surface more frequently, but many of the G.o.ds had lost their power during the battles against the Demon King and Vida and had not recovered. Though they were not short by many, there were not enough G.o.ds to maintain the world.

The G.o.ds’ numbers had increased with those of the new generation, such as Mill, the G.o.ddess of Slumber, but there were still not enough.

Also, Familiar Spirits were spiritual beings. If they were dispatched to monitor Vandalieu, there was the danger that they would be discovered and their souls would be broken. This would be impossible for a normal human, but that Dhampir would do so without hesitation.

And though this wasn’t necessarily the next largest problem, a strange incident had occurred.

The incident itself had been nothing in comparison to the size of Vandalieu’s deeds. A merchant and his daughter had been killed along with the adventurers escorting them and their belongings had been stolen. It was pitiful, but also a tragic incident that occurred in great numbers in Lambda.

“Who is this man?”

The strange thing was the criminal responsible.

According to the information brought to Alda by the other G.o.ds, his name was Kaidou Kanata. He was a man in his thirties with black hair and eyes, which would normally not be seen in that region, and he had possessed a unique skill that had never been confirmed to exist in Lambda, as well as the ability to cast advanced fire-attribute magic. And there were no records of him prior to this incident.

This lack of records was the strangest thing about him.

None of the G.o.ds knew of this man called Kanata, nor did they have any records of him. This was strange. In Lambda, the people knew of the G.o.ds’ existence. Thus, every person, no matter how impious, had prayed to someone at least once.

Perhaps there are some who have never even made a single prayer in their lives, but it is completely impossible for that to be true of every single person near such people.

At the very least, if they have ever stayed in a city or village, they would have exchanged words with someone and been seen by them.

Even if that has never occurred, as long as they are humans, they should have definitely have parents who gave birth to them.

The man named Kanata didn’t even have parents. He had suddenly appeared and, just as suddenly, committed acts of violence.

It was a complete mystery as to where he had lived up until that age and where he had trained his skills to such a level.

If one were to accept very far-fetched theories, it was possible that there was a community nearby where people wors.h.i.+pped only G.o.ds who didn’t work for Alda, and Kanata was a member of that community. But there was no sign of such a community existing in the area in which Kanata had appeared.

If he had used some lesser-used road to stay hidden while journeying from afar, then the senseless violence that he had committed after that wouldn’t make sense.

“Fitun, it seems that you have an idea as to who this man named Kanata is,” said Alda.

“Yes, Alda.” Fitun seemed rather hesitant to offer his report on Kanata. “Actually, the man named Kaidou Kanata was a man whom I had set my sights on and bestowed my divine protection,” he said.

“What? Curatos, the G.o.d of Records, has no record of this,” said Alda.

“Indeed. This man named Kanata is a man who was born from a pregnant woman who died in a monster attack while she was journeying on a stagecoach to meet her husband… After that, perhaps on a whim or to save him as emergency rations later, he was raised by monsters. I believe that is why there is no record of him.”

Indeed, if Kanata had been born under such circ.u.mstances, it wasn’t strange to think that Curatos had no records of him.

“I happened to notice Kanata’s existence, took a liking to his talent and qualities, and bestowed him my divine protection,” said Fitun. “But it seems that this is what corrupted him.”

“… So, you are saying that his unusual unique skill also originates from your divine protection?” Alda asked.

“Yes. There is no mistake.”

“It seems that some among his victims were your believers, however.”

“Yes; it seems that my divine protection and the fact that I was safeguarding him twisted this man’s nature and led him to depravity.”

“Why did you keep this man a secret even from Curatos?”

“That is… I believed that some would oppose to me granting him my divine protection and safeguarding him. I was imprudent.”

Alda couldn’t erase his suspicion of Fitun’s answers, but without concrete evidence, he couldn’t press Fitun further.

“I do not know why his body was discovered in the sacred underground area where a seal of the Demon King was, nor do I know why he left me, but…”

“Enough,” said Alda. “I understand. We must enquire Ninelord about the broken seal.”

Ninelord, the champion chosen by s.h.i.+zarion, the G.o.d who had been destroyed by the Demon King. She had become a G.o.ddess, replaced s.h.i.+zarion and was now managing the G.o.ds of the wind attribute. She was even more short of hands than Alda, but as the seal in question had been created by her, it was necessary to request her cooperation.

“Now then, I will excuse –” Fitun bowed and attempted to take his leave, but Alda asked him one final question.

“Wait. The man named Kaidou Kanata has a strange name. He wouldn’t be someone who came from another world, would he?”

Alda was suspicious of the surname “Kaidou,” a name that sounded foreign to him.

But Fitun didn’t seem to understand why Alda was asking him this question. “No, it seems that he was randomly given that name by a monster… Perhaps he was named Kaidou because they encountered him on a highway, and Kanata because he came from somewhere else…”

TLN: 街道/Kaidou means “highway.” Incidentally, this isn’t the correct kanji spelling for Kanata’s surname; it’s actually 海藤 which means “ocean wisteria.” かなた/Kanata means something like “over there/other side/far away.”

“I see… I am sorry for stopping you,” said Alda.

“Not at all…” Fitun took his leave.

“I suppose I was overthinking things,” Alda murmured, shaking his head. “Now that I think about it, since Zuruwarn has not regained his power, summoning someone from another world to this one would be impossible. There are none among the Demon King’s surviving subordinates who possess that much power, either.”

Only Rodcorte, the G.o.d of Reincarnation, would be able to do such a thing. He repeatedly advocated the importance of development, but among all of the G.o.ds that Alda knew of, he was the one who had stockpiled the most power. With his authority, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to reincarnate the inhabitants of other worlds into Lambda.

“But still, the actions of this man named Kanata are simply too foolish,” Alda muttered.

He had killed several dozen people, robbed, raped and, though this was still only a suspicion at this stage, removed one of the Demon King’s seals. His actions didn’t contain a trace of the “development” that Rodcorte advocated.

It is probably my imagination after all.

The more important matters at hand were dealing with Vandalieu, who was making mysterious move after mysterious move, and the locations of the sealed fragments of the Demon King.

Fitun, who had left Alda’s side and returned to his own Divine Realm, celebrated the fact that he had fooled Alda successfully.

“HAHAHAHA! I did it! Now things will become interesting!”

It was good fortune that had allowed Fitun to be the first to notice the man who had been reincarnated from another world. One of his weak believers* had died, but this didn’t matter; in fact, that believer was worthy of being praised for dying and giving Fitun this information.

TLN*: Here, ―匹/ippiki is used to indicate “one of his believers.” This counter is typically used for animals rather than people, while 一人/hitori which means “one person” is more commonly used indicate a single person. It’s basically a sign of Fitun’s contempt for his followers (considering them to be inferior/insignificant like animals, rather than respecting them as people). Included this TLN because this subtle nuance doesn’t translate well to English.

“There really was a monster attack on a pregnant woman around thirty years ago. Though I say so myself, I am quite brilliant for thinking of fooling Alda into thinking that a child had survived the attack,” Fitun gloated to himself. “Now then, Rodcorte… The Vandalieu whom you wish to kill so desperately is still alive and well. When will you send your next a.s.sa.s.sin?”

The moment Fitun became aware of Kanata, he had sc.r.a.ped off some of his own flesh to create a spirit clone of himself to monitor Kanata. He also managed to succeed in learning various things about Vandalieu that Alda didn’t know about. Fitun also knew that none other than Vandalieu would have been capable of removing the Demon King’s seal.

That was why he was concealing this information.

Fitun had been a G.o.d for over fifty thousand years. His days of extreme boredom were finally coming to an end.

“Now then, my beloved enemy who might be capable of killing me. Keep growing just as you are now. Now then, Rodcorte. Reincarnate someone to this world who, unlike that piece of waste matter you sent previously, is worthy of receiving my divine protection and sending my spirit clone to. Kufufu, KIHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Early in the morning, Kasim, Fester and Zeno were training hard behind the jack-of-all-trades store.

“Hngh, HAH!”

“Fester, keep your voice down.”

“Ah, sorry.”

They had been doing this training for a long time. However, it was only recently that they had become so enthusiastic about it… when Vandalieu had stopped by in this village and given them a training session.

Vandalieu had accomplished various unbelievable, miraculous things, but the thing that had surprised Kasim and his friends the most was the strength that he possessed despite his appearance.

Though it was only in the Unarmed Fighting Technique and Javelin Technique, Vandalieu’s ability was far greater and more solid than those of Kasim’s party. With the Unarmed Fighting Technique in particular, he had properly learned the techniques rather than simply relying on his physical strength. He was like one of the instructors at the adventurers’ school.

“But you know, I couldn’t help getting so focused. Stuff like, ‘keep your arms closer to your body,’ and, ‘pay more attention to your feet.’”

“Yeah, I was told to keep my arms closer to my body as well.”

“I was told to improve my stamina.”

Vandalieu’s advice had been accurate.

He had engaged in practice battles with each of them, identified their problems and encouraged them in an unforgettable way, telling them, “I was advised about things like this before as well, so I think you can learn to do what I do, too.”

“But come to think of it, I wonder what kind of person his mother was?”

“There’s no doubt that she was an amazing person. She taught him magic and unarmed fighting, so… Vampires are amazing after all.”

Kasim and his friends did have some misunderstandings, however.

“I wonder what Vandalieu is doing now?”

“Umm, I suppose it’s been around a week since he went to the city. Wouldn’t he already be living in a dorm of the adventurers’ school by now?”

“But he’s a special case; it wouldn’t be strange for him to become a D-cla.s.s adventurer without going to the school. He has a unique skill, but not only that, his magic and martial skills are ridiculous as well, right? Wouldn’t the school’s instructors have nothing to teach him?”

“In fact, he could probably teach them a lot of things.”

“But he wouldn’t become D-cla.s.s right away. There’s an exam, right?”

In order for one to become promoted to D-cla.s.s, it is necessary to take an examination to practically determine whether he or she can kill a person. This would probably be criticized as inhumane on Earth, but the adventurers of Lambda have to exterminate bandits and protect clients that they are escorting.

If adventurers hesitate to kill in such situations and allowed their enemies to escape, causing further victims or allowing their clients to be killed, there would be no point in hiring them.

That is why one cannot become a D-cla.s.s adventurer without being able to kill people.

“I wonder if he can do it?”

“We need to catch up to Vandalieu before we can worry about him. He is our senpai as an adventurer, after all.”

“You’re right. We need to show him a thing or two the next time we meet –”

“Excuse me.”

“Oi, oi, what are you… Uwah, Vandalieu, why are you here?!”

Vandalieu hadn’t been called out to (or noticed) by the gatekeeper, so he had entered the Seventh Cultivate Village, found the three of them training behind the jack-of-all-trades store and approached them.

“Didn’t you become an adventurer in the city? Did something happen in the city? Oyaji-san was worried because the traveling merchant that was supposed to come is late.”

It seemed that news of the monster rampage that had happened in the city of Niarki hadn’t reached the cultivation villages yet.

“No, the rules have changed so that Dhampirs below the age of ten can’t register, so I’ve given up on it for now,” said Vandalieu.

“Eh, the rules have changed?!”

“Forget that! You’re less than ten years old?!”

It seemed that Kasim and his friends had indeed mistaken Vandalieu’s age. Different races developed differently, so they couldn’t really be blamed for that.

“There is also a rumor that within the year, Dhampirs will be disallowed from entering the adventurers’ school, so I’m thinking of looking for an opportunity to register as an adventurer in another duchy,” said Vandalieu.

Some A-cla.s.s adventurer somewhere would apparently do something about it, but Vandalieu didn’t want to get involved with him right now, so he certainly wouldn’t rely on that happening. Thinking that he could become an adventurer thanks to that guy was something that he absolutely did not want to do.

“Look for an opportunity, you say… it takes a month to reach another duchy. Well, you can fly, so it might only take you a few days.”

“Yeah, you can fly, after all.”

Aware that Vandalieu had used Flight to travel between the cultivation villages, Kasim and his friends didn’t really try to dissuade him from this idea.

“Well then, if you don’t mind, won’t you join our party until then?” asked Kasim.

Vandalieu blinked. “I’m a civilian, though,” he said.

“There’s no rule saying that you can’t add a civilian to your party!” said Kasim.

“Normally, it wouldn’t be something that would need a rule,” said Zeno. “But you’re stronger than us, and… he asked in a self-important kind of way by asking if you’d join us, but it’s more like ‘please make us your disciples.’”

“It’s just as Zeno says,” said Fester. “We’re weaker than you, but we can at least be a hindrance for you!”

“Fester, that’s the worst thing to say, even if it is a joke… and it’s true, so it isn’t funny…”

It seemed that Vandalieu had become idolized by his senpais. For a moment, he thought that it would be good to form a party of adventurers and a civilian, but there was something that he needed to do.

“I don’t mind,” he said. “But I am thinking of making a return to where I was raised.”

He couldn’t tell them that he was planning to attack the nearby slave-run mine and rescue the slaves, so he decided to deceive them using the same story that he had told them before.

“I see… then next time you have a chance, can you train us again?”

Vandalieu nodded. “Of course.”

Kasim and his friends didn’t look like they were particularly doubtful of his story, and Vandalieu could feel his heart, which had hardened due to the events in the city, softening. It seemed that these three were a source of comfort for him.

“So, are you going to leave soon?” Kasim asked. “In autumn, we’re going to build the shrine and have a harvest festival, so make sure you come and visit around then.”

Each time Vandalieu had saved the people of the cultivation villages, he had asked for the construction of a shrine to Vida as his reward. It seemed that they would be complete in autumn.

He hadn’t requested for one to be built in the Seventh Cultivation Village, however.

“In this village?” Vandalieu asked.

“Yeah, Oyaji-san of the jack-of-all-trades store and the village chief are building it. They said it’s a good opportunity to do it, and it’ll bring good luck, too.”

“Ivan was really excited about it. He was a stonemason before we fled to the Hartner Duchy.”

“He said he’d build a stone statue of you, too.”

It seemed that Vandalieu had become a figure of power or something without even realizing it. The fact that Vida’s religion was becoming more active was something that Vandalieu and his companions should welcome, but was a statue of him being built such a good idea?

Rudely hoping that the statue wouldn’t resemble him much, Vandalieu asked another question. “Umm, what are the other cultivation villages doing, then?”

A statue of him was being built in this village just because he had saved Ivan. How were things in the other cultivation villages?

“The other villages? Umm… Well, at churches, it isn’t rare for stone statues of saints and heroes to be built as well as statues of the G.o.ds.”

“That’s right. And even though we say statues, they’re not really that impressive. They’ll be just a little bigger than you actually are, won’t they?”

It seemed that Vandalieu would go down in the history of these villages.

『You have acquired the t.i.tle, ‘Guardian of the Cultivation Villages!’』

This was even reflected in Vandalieu’s status. He was happy about this one, as it was a t.i.tle that would be accepted in society without needing him to make an effort to explain it.

“Ah, and I want to borrow your Job-changing room today,” said Vandalieu.

“That’s in the village chief’s house.”

Job-changing rooms were facilities that were usually installed in Guild buildings, but it wasn’t only adventurers, mages, soldiers and knights who needed them. Even farmers and hunters working in farming villages needed the Farmer and Hunter Jobs.

As such, Job-changing rooms were often installed in the village chief’s house in small villages.

Vandalieu visited the village chief’s house, offered the wine that he had randomly taken from the wine cellar that had been in the mansion of the Mages’ Guild’s Guild Master as a present and entered the Job-changing room.

And then he touched the crystal ball that was far smaller than the one in Talosheim.

『Jobs that can be selected:【Insect User】【Archenemy】【Zombie Maker】【Tree Caster】【Corpse Demon Commander】【Disease Demon】【Spirit Warrior】【Whip Tongue Calamity】【Vengeful Berserker】【Dead Spirit Mage】【Dark Healer】【Labyrinth Creator】【Demon King User】【Madous.h.i.+*】』

TLN*: This is usually translated to “Sorcerer” but a reader who has read ahead in raws has advised me to leave this untranslated for now. The kanji is 魔導士, something like "evil/magic guide."

“There’s a whole bunch of new ones again.”

Perhaps Vandalieu would never have problems with Job-changing for the rest of his life. No, his lifespan was somewhere between three thousand and five thousand years, so perhaps it wasn’t to that extent.

Was Whip Tongue Calamity read ‘Benzetsuka*’?  It had probably appeared because Vandalieu had been fighting with his tongue.

TLN*: Kanji reading. The three kanji are literally ‘whip’, ‘tongue’ and ‘calamity.’

What could Vengeful Berserker be? Vandalieu imagined that it would have something to do with his new skills like Scream, Mental Encroachment and Grotesque Mind.

Dead Spirit Mage was a Job that would work with the Dead Spirit Magic skill. It might let him draw more power out of Princess Levia and the other Ghosts.

Dark Healer would probably provide bonuses to the Surgery and Venom Secretion skills. Had it appeared because of the medical deeds he had performed in the cultivation villages?

Labyrinth Creator was there because he had created a Dungeon, and Demon King user because he had consumed the Demon King’s sealed blood.

But what could Madous.h.i.+ be? Vandalieu’s curse was supposed to prevent Jobs that had been previously discovered from appearing; it sounded like the kind of Job that one would normally be able to acquire. Was it different from the Mage Job? … It seemed suspicious. Wasn’t it some kind of trap?

“First of all, Labyrinth Creator and Demon King User will make people think I’m dangerous if they see it, so I’ll leave them for later… the same goes for Dead Spirit Mage, but Madous.h.i.+ is suspicious… so, that leaves a choice between Insect User, Tree Caster, Spirit Warrior and Dark Healer, I suppose.” Vandalieu sighed. “If I’d managed to register as an adventurer, I wouldn’t have to worry about it so much.”

Since his Status would be seen as he registered, he couldn’t acquire Jobs that would be problematic if seen yet. Or perhaps he should have registered at the Mages’ Guild after he had brainwashed the Guild Master? But it would have been problematic in the future if he had registered under the recommendation of someone who was about to lose his social standing… it was almost certain that he would be executed, or at least imprisoned for life.

“Alright, let’s go with Insect User,” Vandalieu decided.

『You have acquired the Insect Binding Technique skill!』

『The levels of the Long-distance Control, Mana Control, Insect Binding Technique and Enhanced Physical Ability (Claws, Fangs, Tongue) skills have increased!』

Name: Vandalieu Race: Dhampir (Dark Elf) Age: 7 years old t.i.tle:【Ghoul King】,【Eclipse King】,【Second Coming of the Demon King】,【Guardian of the Cultivation Villages】,【Taboo Name】 Job: Insect User Level: 0 Job history: Death-Attribute Mage, Golem Trans.m.u.ter, Undead Tamer, Soul Breaker, Venom Fist User Attributes: Vitality: 344 Mana: 379,120,344 Strength: 188 Agility: 251 Stamina: 159 Intelligence: 784 Pa.s.sive skills: Superhuman Strength: Level 4 Rapid Healing: Level 6 Death-Attribute Magic: Level 7 Status Effect Resistance: Level 7 Magic Resistance: Level 4 Dark Vision Death-Attribute Charm: Level 7 Chant Revocation: Level 4 Strengthen Followers: Level 8 Automatic Mana Recovery: Level 6 Strengthen Subordinates: Level 4 Venom Secretion (Claws, Fangs, Tongue): Level 4 Enhanced Agility: Level 2 Body Expansion (Tongue): Level 4 Strengthened Attack Power while Unarmed: Small Enhanced Physical Ability (Claws, Tongue, Fangs): Level 2 (LEVEL UP!) Active skills: Bloodwork: Level 2 Surpa.s.s Limits: Level 6 Golem Trans.m.u.tation: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!) No-Attribute Magic: Level 5 Mana Control: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!) Spirit Form: Level 7 Carpentry: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!) Engineering: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!) Cooking: Level 4 Alchemy: Level 4 Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 5 Soul Break: Level 6 Multi-Cast: Level 5 Long-distance Control: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!) Surgery: Level 3 Parallel Thought Processing: Level 5 Materialization: Level 4 Coordination: Level 3 High-speed Thought Processing: Level 3 Commanding: Level 2 Farming: Level 3 Clothing: Level 2 Javelin Technique: Level 3 Scream: Level 3 Dead Spirit Magic: Level 2 Insect Binding Technique: Level 2 (NEW!) Unique skills: G.o.d Slayer: Level 4 Grotesque Mind: Level 4 Mental Encroachment: Level 3 Labyrinth Construction: Level 4 Curses Experience gained in previous life not carried over Cannot learn existing jobs Unable to gain experience independently

“Insect Binding Technique? Not manipulating, but binding? Well, I’ll examine it later… I suppose I’ll go and wait for Borkus and the others at the city where the Goblin King’s village was. If it seems like they’re going to take some time, I could fly to the slave-run mine to have a look at things first, too.”

Job explanation:

【Venom Fist User】

A Job one can acquire if he meets the Attribute Value requirements and possesses the Unarmed Fighting Technique skill at level 2, in addition to being knowledgeable in regards to various drugs, having learned their effects, being able to actually produce them and produce antidotes for them.

Because it requires accurate scientific knowledge, n.o.body in Lambda currently possesses this Job other than Vandalieu.

It becomes possible to acquire the Venom Secretion skill, which allows the secretion of various drugs from the fangs, tongue and nails of every limb, as well as an Enhanced Physical Ability skill that enhances the fangs, tongue and claws. It also provides a bonus to skills such as Unarmed Fighting Technique, making it a Job suited for fighting on the frontlines.

This Job makes it easier to increase Vitality, Stamina and Agility, while providing few increases to Mana and Intelligence.

t.i.tle explanation:

【Guardian of the Cultivation Villages】

A t.i.tle that one can acquire by saving inhabitants of cultivation villages and solving their problems, causing over ninety percent of the villagers to acknowledge him.

Cultivation projects involving someone who possesses this t.i.tle have a much greater chance of success. Also, when danger approaches the cultivation villages, it becomes likely that the person with this t.i.tle will happen to be present and deal with it.

There are t.i.tles with similar effects, such as ‘G.o.ddess of Cultivated Land’ and ‘Savior of Cultivated Land.’