The Death Mage Who Doesn’t Want a Fourth Time Chapter 178.3

v8 character part2

Legion – Legion Star, 1 year old, gender = ?

The strange creature that serves Vandalieu, having infiltrated the Legston family of earls' house in the royal capital of the Mirg shield-nation and accompanied him in the Trial of Zakkart. As it floats in the air, it truly looks like a star made of flesh.

However, they refused to partic.i.p.ate in the bodybuilding contest, as they didn't know which category to compete in and there were many opinions that they did not fit the traditional view of “muscular beauty.”

They are a being whose existence even Gufadgarn had been unable to predict; as they have multiple souls fused into one being, the false image trial malfunctioned when they faced it.

They were surprised to learn that Vandalieu's soul had been created from the souls of the four destroyed creation-oriented champions. But as the majority of their personalities are the members of the Eighth Guidance who had worshipped him, they think favorably of him now that they know he was as great as they had imagined.

They feel a sense of affinity as well as a sense of rivalry towards Gufadgarn, Vandalieu's newest servant.

Though this does not apply for the 'Gazer' Minuma Hitomi, the Eighth Guidance members' lives were also transformed completely when Vandalieu (the Undead) rescued them, just like Gufadgarn and Zakkart.

Incidentally, they have divided opinions on magical girls, which are now popular in Talosheim. They have yet to reach an overall verdict. However, those who oppose magical girls are the four members who normally accept the opinions of the others – Ghost, Enma, Ereshkigal and Baba Yaga. Meanwhile, those who are for magical girls include Pluto, who has been making decisions for them ever since they were the Eighth Guidance, so the overall opinion is leaning towards favoring magical girls.

Shade previously existed as nothing but his own mind so he does not care about gender ident.i.ty. Jack doesn't mind anything “as long as. .h.i.tomi-chan is happy,” and Berserk is a bear even after all of their souls have fused together. Thus, these three were easily persuaded to be in favor of magical girls.

However, at this rate, becoming a magical girl might mean transforming from a fusion-monster of multiple male and female flesh mannequins into a fusion-monster of multiple male and female flesh mannequins wearing magical girl costumes. Thus, even Pluto and the others in favor of magical girls have no intentions of becoming one any time soon.

Ricklent – The genie of time and magic

A G.o.d who takes appearances such as a trio of beautiful women or a trio consisting of an old man, a young man and a boy.

It is well-known that he has been in frequent contact with Zuruwarn since the age of the G.o.ds, often scolding him. One might see this and think that he is a G.o.d with a rational personality, but the truth is that he is just as much of a troublemaker as Zuruwarn.

If Zuruwarn is one who causes trouble, Ricklent is one who creates it. This is evident from the trouble that the G.o.ds in charge of the Status system caused recently with Vandalieu and Zadiris's Jobs and Skills.

Ricklent currently does not manage the Status system of humans; three G.o.ds independently manage Statuses, Jobs and Skills in an isolated s.p.a.ce. However, it was Ricklent who created them out of Familiar Spirits.

Thus, these three G.o.ds were influenced by their creator.

Originally, he did not really guide people. As the symbol of magic, he had a strong personality and was far more curious than he looked; if Zuruwarn or the other G.o.ds set him off, he would become very absorbed in whatever had captured his interest. It is likely that the Status system is one of the results of this.

He does not resent Gufadgarn for naming Vandalieu as Zakkart's successor despite the fact that he also possesses a fragment of Ark's soul, but he does feel like he was beaten to it.

If only I acknowledged him as “Ark's successor” first, he would have had Ark as his surname.

However, he is more interested in the Hollow King Magic that Vandalieu has invented. As a G.o.d of magic, he does not need to go through the trouble of creating a Dungeon named “The Trial of Ark” to test Vandalieu, who creates magic on his own. It seems that he hopes to influence Vandalieu's Status with words alone.

As the great G.o.d who rules over magic, he has recently been a little troubled by magical girls… because it is likely that he will be the G.o.d who rules over them one day in the future.

Rodcorte

In this volume, he has finally realized that Vandalieu's soul is the one that he himself created from the soul fragments of the creation-oriented champions.

As it was a truly irregular soul, he sent it to Earth, a world where magic does not exist, in order to prevent any problems from arising. However, he screamed out loud when he realized that he had brought it into Origin and then into Lambda.

He finally felt a sense of impending danger, which had been suppressed up until then, and attempted to disconnect Lambda from his circle of transmigration system. Multiple other worlds, including Earth and Origin, are in the same section of the system, but he was willing to sacrifice these worlds in order to try and escape from his fate.

He took this desperate action because of his self-preservation instinct, which has been a problem since before he was a G.o.d. His familiar spirits opposed him, but he did not listen to them and attempted to execute his plan, only to painfully learn of yet another shocking truth.

Because Vandalieu told those inside the Boundary Mountain Range about his reincarnation and his ill treatment at Rodcorte's hands, many people have acknowledged Rodcorte's existence, which has resulted in him becoming one of Lambda's G.o.ds.

Thus, attempting to flee from Lambda would result in Rodcorte taking damage equivalent to having his arms shredded to pieces.

Ever since then, he has been sitting in his Divine Realm in a daze, unsure what to do with no allies to offer him advice.

The 'Perseus' Samejima Yuri, 'Skanda' Tanaka and 'Urðr​' Mackenzie refused to fight Vandalieu, so Rodcorte had them reincarnated into families that are hostile towards Vandalieu in order to force them to fight him.

As a result, Samejima Yuri was taken into Talosheim when Sarua Legston defected. Meanwhile, Marshukzarl's son Sieg ended up under the protection of secret Vida followers and a Pure-breed Vampire.

Why did things turn out like this? Rodcorte asks himself.

He is aware that the 'Marionette' Hajime Inui was taken in by Fitun, the G.o.d of thunderclouds, but as he is now a follower of Fitun, Rodcorte is unable to contact him through Divine Messages or anything else. He and his familiar spirits have already given up on Hajime.

The actions of the 'Venus' Kanako's group happened after Rodcorte fell into his state of shock, so he has not noticed them. Aran and the other familiar spirits have noticed, but it seems that they have no intentions of going out of their way to tell Rodcorte about them.

Bust rankings:

The cup system has been introduced, and with ratios being applied in calculations, the Undead t.i.tans Levia, Jeena and Zandia are able to partic.i.p.ate.

Legion is able to partic.i.p.ate with the upper bodies of their individual personalities, but as with the previous ranking, Yamata is unable to partic.i.p.ate (It is uncertain where to rank her, as she is still just one personality).

Darcia is ranked based on measurement results on the spirit form she had before she entered the root of life.

Furthermore, some partic.i.p.ants such as Legion are able to change the shape of their bodies, but these rankings are based on their usual sizes without any such alterations.

Impossible to measure, honorary consultant: Yamata

Rankings:

・I-cup

Bellmond

Eisen

Princess Levia

Quinn (NEW!)

・H-cup

Tarea

Basdia

Valkyrie (Legion)

Jeena

Darcia (Spirit)

Kurnelia

Gizania (Rank up!)

・G-cup

Isla

Isis (Legion)

Iris

Rapiéçage

・F-cup

Saria

Eleanora

Gaol

Rita

・E-cup

Periveil

Myuze

Ereshkigal (Legion)

Orbia

・D-cup

Kachia

Bilde

Izanami (Legion)

・C-cup

Privel

Minuma Hitomi (Legion)

・B-cup

Oniwaka (NEW!)

Zandia

Zadiris

Pluto (Legion)

・cup

Baba Yaga (Legion)

Gufadgarn (Vessel)

・AAcup

Pauvina

Princess Levia and Jeena, the two known heavyweights of the former Talosheim, as well as Quinn, the queen of the Gehenna Bees, have joined the fray. However, Bellmond and Eisen maintain their positions of first and second by a small margin. The body parts of the Pure-breed Vampire Ternecia that have been transplanted onto Bellmond are rather astounding.

Legion's female personalities are also partic.i.p.ating, but Valkyrie, the strongest contender, seems to be a little short of the elite ranks. Gizania, whose figure has changed from her Rank increase to Ushioni, has just missed out on being within the top ten.

One could say that this shows just how strong the elite ranks of Talosheim are.

On the other hand, the lower ranks… or rather, the elite ranks of the opposite end of the scale, have changed significantly. Zadiris, who had stood at the top on her own, has dropped to fourth place. Though she stands (unwillingly) above Zandia and Oniwaka, it seems that she was unable to hold her ground against Baba Yaga, Pluto and Gufadgarn.

… The true champion of the bottom end of the scale is Pauvina, but she is growing healthily, so she will likely vacate that spot to Gufadgarn in a few years.

The development of Talosheim

Population: Approximately 16,300

Ghouls, Undead, Black Goblins, Anubises, Orcuses, t.i.tans, humans, Beast-people, Dwarves, Scylla, half-Elves, Lizardmen, Armans, Vampires

Golems and Cursed Weapons are not included in the population.

Facilities in Talosheim

Mercury mirror Golems

Explorers' Guild (Trading post, distribution center, Job-changing room)

Church of Vida (with statues of subordinate G.o.ds, Zuruwarn and Ricklent)

Public bathhouses

Carts of all kinds

Publicly managed casino

Immortal Ent forest (Has had Gante Ents planted)

Golem factories of all kinds

Monster Plant fields

Training dummy grounds (inhabited by Undead heroes from Alda's faction)

Theater (Completed!)

Artistic paintings that remain in the minds of those who view them (entire paintings cannot be viewed except from the sky)

Capsules for containing the root of life (NEW!)

B-cla.s.s Dungeon x2, C-cla.s.s Dungeon x2, D-cla.s.s Dungeon x3, E-cla.s.s Dungeon x1

Dungeon for cultivating pine trees for wine x1 (NEW!)

Amus.e.m.e.nt beach Dungeon construction undergoing planning (NEW!)

Dungeon to temporarily house Demon army, attached to Vandalieu's underground workshop (NEW!)

Marshlands, Lizardman district

Capricorn farm

Capricorn milking factory

Explorers' Guild branch

Small shrine to Fidirg, the Dragon G.o.d of Five Sins

Mental Encroachment stone circle

D-cla.s.s Dungeon x1, B-cla.s.s Dungeon x1

Marshlands, Scylla district

Paddy fields

Mud bath hot springs

Small shrine to Merrebeveil, the heroic G.o.ddess of the Scylla

Explorers' Guild branch

Huge Capybara farm

Duck farm

Mental Encroachment stone circle

Small Dungeon for teleportation

Sauron Liberation Front base (Former Scylla territory)

Mental Encroachment stone circle (Has been repaired)

Temporary base for the Dark Night Knights' Order (Knochen, camouflaged to blend into the mountain)

Automatic Undead-creating magic circle (Used to recycle members of Duke Marme's army) (NEW!)

D-cla.s.s Dungeon

Small Dungeon for teleportation

Main station of the Dark Night Knights' Order (NEW!)

Crude-quality Undead (NEW!)

Nations within the Boundary Mountain Range under the influence of the Dark Demon Creator Path (Nations personally visited by Vandalieu):

n.o.ble Orc kingdom

Za.n.a.lpadna

Ghoul nation

High Kobold nation

High Goblin nation

Majin nation

Kijin nation

Centaur nation

Harpy nation

Lamia nation

Drakonid nation

Merfolk nation

Dark Elf nation

Vida's Resting Grounds

Race introductions – Written by Luciliano

Kijin

A race born to Vida and Zantark, who fused with evil G.o.ds. The Majin are like a twin race to the Kijin; they share some features such as their horns.

In human society, it is thought that Kijin are a form of Majin or a superior race of Ogre, but they are a different race entirely.

Their base Rank is 4.

Kijin can be largely divided into two types. However, unlike the Majin race and Arachne, they cannot be categorized immediately after birth. As their Rank increases after their birth, they branch into either Gouki, who have exceptional physical abilities, or Youki, who are skilled in the use of magic. Only their fields of expertise are different; their biology is essentially identical.

TLN: Gouki translates to something like “powerful demon” while Youki translates to something like “Bewitching Demon.”

Gouki stand two meters tall at minimum, and some individuals can grow to heights nearing three meters. Their entire bodies are covered in steel-like muscles.

Their physical abilities are excellent as their appearance suggests, and they train themselves in advanced combat techniques.

Youki are far thinner than Gouki, and those who can be considered tall among Youki are indeed tall from a human's point of view, but their height reaches a maximum of a little over two meters.

They are skilled in the use of magic, and many are capable of using multiple attributes of magic. They are certainly not weak physically, but they are inferior to Gouki in this regard.

To give examples, Gidoumaru of the Six Horn Battle-Demons is a Gouki and King Tenma is a Youki.

Apparently, on very rare occasions, a Kijin with both the physical strength and talent for magic possessed by the Kijin ancestor is born. The Kijin refer to such individuals as Chouki, demons who surpa.s.s demons.

Kijin skin color varies greatly; many are red, black or blue, but there are some that are white or purple. At three hundred years, their lifespans are short, but there are records of long-living individuals who lived to be five hundred years old. They are not immortal; it seems that there are some differences between individuals.

They generally reproduce at the same rate as humans and develop at the same pace; they are recognized as adults at the age of twenty.

Their personalities are similar to Majin; they enjoy battle, eating meat and drinking. Many of them admire the Majin as their brethren.

In romance, strength is the most important factor rather than physical attractiveness or fortune. Women's eyes moisten at the sight of strong men, and men's hearts beat fast for strong women.

As the Kijin nation manages multiple Dungeons and must be prepared to fight any humans that cross the Boundary Mountain Range, every citizen is expected to be highly capable in combat.

As a result, it is impossible for one who does not have the strength to be recognized as a citizen to date someone else… Those who are not satisfied by strength alone often move to other nations, and such individuals actually quickly find a marriage partner in their new home country, so it is not like the weak cannot get married.

In fact, the compet.i.tion is often harder in the Kijin nation, where only those with strength beyond a certain standard remain.

There is no marriage system in the Kijin nation, and as long as all parties are happy, one husband can have multiple wives, one wife can have multiple husbands, and there are families involving multiple husbands and wives. However, strong individuals desire those who are about as strong as them and are attracted to those stronger than them, so in the end, there are still single-husband-single-wife couples.

There is a ritual for transforming members of races not created by Vida into Kijin; they feast in the company of multiple Kijin and consume nothing but special meat and alcohol for three straight days and nights, and on the morning of the fourth day, they grow horns and are reborn as Kijin.

Apparently, the alcohol, meat, songs and dances during the feasting are all part of the ritual. Thus, there is no use in stealing only the alcohol and meat offered at the feast.

Jobs such as Ogre Tamer, which allow the taming of Ogre-type monsters, are known to be unique to the Kijin race. However, Ogres are demi-human monsters and can be tamed by tamers other than Kijin, so it may be difficult to call it a racial Job, especially when compared to the Arachne and Empusa who can tame specific types of insects and Majin who can tame Demons.

However, Ogres that are tamed by Kijin are apparently more obedient.

It does not need to be said, but they are highly suited for becoming adventurers. Even an ordinary Kijin would have the combat skills of perhaps a C-cla.s.s adventurer.

Come to think of it, Gizania, who is a large-build Arachne, has acquired the race t.i.tle of Ushioni, but… can one a.s.sume that she has become closer to a Kijin?

TLN: The “oni” of “Ushioni” is the same kanji as the “ki” of “Kijin.”

I must not be negligent in my observations.

Centaurs

A half-human, half-horse race born between Vida, the G.o.ddess of life and love, and the horse beast-king who fused with an evil G.o.d. One could describe them as horse-type Beast-people.

They have lifespans of around two hundred years, and they mostly give birth to a single child at a time, giving birth to twins only in extremely rare cases. Centaur children are not immediately able to stand the moment they are born, unlike wild horses, but they mature faster than humans, becoming adults in around ten years.

Their base Rank is 3, and there is only one type of Centaur. However, there are large variations in their physiques. Some are large and powerful; others are slender and swift and others still are small and light.

They are exceptionally mobile, and have qualities for multiple disciplines of combat, such as archery, spears or axes. Many of them possess an affinity for the wind and earth attributes.

They become exceptional knights if equipped with armor, and they would likely be effective raiders on the battlefield with swift movements if lightly equipped. However, as adventurers, they may be a little limited in terms of environments they can venture into due to their large lower bodies.

They may also be unsuited to working inside towns, especially as scouts.

They originally preferred living in open plains, but inside the Boundary Mountain Range, they have built their kingdom inside a Dungeon.

As for their personalities, many of them are rude and very proud. However, this changes when they drink; there are those who cry, those who become clingy and those who laugh when they are drunk.

Their behavior towards the opposite s.e.x becomes particularly uninhibited; no matter how serious Centaurs are while sober, they all become playboys and playgirls when they are drunk.

Thus, one must not be halfhearted when joining a feast hosted by Centaurs. They are normally conscious of their own bad drinking habits, but at feasts, they drink without reserve.

Perhaps because of this, drinking alcohol is banned at wedding feasts in the Centaur nation. It seems that there were various problems with this in the past.

Also, in their culture, allowing members of other races to straddle them is a sign of deep trust, friendship and love. It can be a.s.sumed that this is because allowing someone to straddle them exposes their defenseless back.

Unfortunately, the ritual to transform members of races not created by Vida has been lost. The blessing of the horse beast-king is required, but the horse beast-king was sealed away by Alda's forces.

Incidentally, it is rumored that there are Centaurs adapted to living in environments with mountains and cliffs, possessing horns and split hooves like mountain goats, but it seems that there are none inside the Boundary Mountain Range.

Harpies

A race of women with feathers and talons born to Vida, the G.o.ddess of life and love, and the bird beast-king who fused with an evil G.o.d. They have lifespans of approximately one hundred years. They are oviparous, laying multiple eggs in one hatching, and mature in approximately ten years.

There are ordinary-type Harpies that can fly, land-type Harpies that cannot fly but cover land very quickly, and hunter-type Harpies that excel in combat. Ordinary-type and land-type Harpies have a base Rank of 3, and hunter-type Harpies have a base Rank of 4.

Many Harpies possess qualities suited for the wind attribute; there are those who unleash spells from above with song-like incantations, while others use their talons to swoop down on their prey.

Hunter-type Harpies are considered warriors in Harpy society; they can be called combat professionals.

Like Centaurs, the environments that they can work in as adventurers are limited. However, we who cannot fly without using magic or riding tamed monsters would find it difficult to endure the attacks of Harpies from the sky above.

Many Harpies have bright personalities, and their appearance remains almost unchanged after they mature, they are often youthful on the inside as well.

They are a race who take many lovers, and many of them find a new partner for each child they raise.

Incidentally, those who are good at looking after eggs, singing and dancing are popular. Master receives a pa.s.sing grade in the first category, but it seems that he is disqualified in the other two.

Like the Centaurs, the ritual for transforming members of races not created by Vida has apparently been lost.

Lamia

A race of half-human, half-snake women born to Vida, the G.o.ddess of life and love, and Jubadi, the evil G.o.d of venom and scales.

They have lifespans of approximately five hundred years, and although they usually lay one egg at a time, they can lay up to three in one birthing. After birth, the snake portion of their bodies continuously sheds up until maturity, which happens at the age of about twenty.

Their base Rank is 3 and they are well-versed in all kinds of magic. They are a race with exceptionally high Vitality, so as adventurers, they would likely form robust rear guards.

Features such as the color of their scales can vary as much as their Skills; they are so diverse that it is difficult to believe that those with venomous fangs, those with high regenerative abilities and those with armor-like scales are all members of the same race.

At first glance, they appear to be beautiful, cheerful women who enjoy singing and dancing, but apparently, they become strongly attached to people, not wanting to be separate from those they love.

These qualities are exaggerated in human society; there are many stories such as one where a Lamia kills the man she loves when he tries to escape from her, and another where a Lamia kills the fiancé of the man she has a one-sided love for. In the Boundary Mountain Range… Though Lamia do not murder for love, they apparently use extreme methods to win over men they love, even if the men already have other women in their lives.

It seems that the most common method they use is to win over the man's fiancé to approach him two-on-one.

Incidentally, as a race, they are weak drinkers. When they drink, they quickly become intoxicated and fall asleep.

One might think that they are also weak to the cold because they possess the lower bodies of snakes, but surprisingly, they experience no problems in cold weather. It is thought that this is because the father of the race was not the snake beast-king, but an evil G.o.d that resembles snakes.

It seems that in the Lamia nation, the champion Hillwillow left records of a legendary Lamia, the Yamatno-Orochi. Like those striving to become bushi and ninja in other nations, Lamia strive to become Yamatno-Orochi.

Though from what I have heard from Master, the Yamatno-Orochi is not a Lamia…

Drakonids

A race born between Vida, the G.o.ddess of life and love, and Tiamat, an Elder Dragon that was the subordinate of the dragon-emperor G.o.d Marduke. As neither parent of the race is an evil G.o.d, Drakonids do not have a monster Rank.

However, as they have horns, wings and scales, this fact is not well-known. In the past, they were treated the same as Vida's races that originated from monsters.

Their lifespans vary greatly from individual to individual; they live a minimum of two hundred years and it is said that there was one who lived to be a thousand years old. They lay one egg at a time, and hatched children take a variable length of time to mature. Most mature in approximately fifteen to twenty years, but there have apparently been Drakonids who had the appearance of children for over a hundred years.

As one would expect from a race originating from an Elder Dragon, Drakonids are tremendously powerful, and it is said that a hundred human soldiers are needed to defeat a single Drakonid warrior. In fact, there is no small number of Drakonid adventurers who have reached B-cla.s.s or above. Of course, this does not mean that every Drakonid is capable of doing so, however.

Many Drakonids have judicious, calm personalities… supposedly. From what I have heard of the Drakonid nation from Master, I have the feeling that this may not be the case.

I was curious so I decided to investigate by speaking to Rowen, a swordsman from the Drakonid nation. Her response was, “That is probably because us Drakonids are always exercising restraint.”

Drakonids have a weakness for delicious food and drink; with alcohol in particular, once they start drinking, they continue drinking until they lose consciousness. They are apparently also l.u.s.tful and p.r.o.ne to falling in love easily, quickly turning their eyes towards members of the opposite s.e.x.

That is why they learn how to exercise self-control from childhood so that they do not ruin themselves with alcohol and l.u.s.t.

Now that I think about it, if I recall correctly, there are many stories of Elder Dragons who were punished after their l.u.s.t and thirst for alcohol caused troubles for the dragon-emperor G.o.d Marduke and the other great G.o.ds. It seems that this trait has been inherited by the Drakonids.

Merfolk

A half-human, half-fish race born to Vida, the G.o.ddess of life and love, and the G.o.d of seas Tristan, who was a subordinate G.o.d of Peria, the G.o.ddess of water and knowledge.

They are one of Vida's races that did not originate from monsters and do not possess Ranks, like the t.i.tans and Dark Elves. Like Drakonids, they are often mistaken for a race that did originate from a monster.

But because their appearances and lifestyle are so different from humans, they have a long history of being persecuted… However, as they live in a completely different environment from humans, they have apparently not suffered much real harm.

This is because Merfolk can inhabit not only shallow waters but deep oceans that humans cannot venture into and seas that are very far from land, so humans cannot pursue them by boat.

They were once believed to be immortal and capable of crying tears made of gemstones, but these are all superst.i.tions.

They have lifespans of approximately two hundred years, and they take approximately fifteen years to reach adulthood. After that, they stop physically aging at a certain point and spend the rest of their lives with that appearance.

There are males as well as females, and their personalities vary greatly. However, they are apparently instinctively attracted to shining objects in the sea.

Also, as a race, they have beautiful voices.

There are large individual differences in their fish-like traits; it is rare, but there are apparently angler-fish-type Merfolk… Master was apparently mistaken for one when he used the Demon King's luminescent organs for illumination in the sea.

As adventurers, their lower bodies impose limits on the environments they can work in, but it would be difficult to survive a battle against hostile Merfolk in the ocean.

However, it is apparently possible for them to turn their lower bodies into human legs using a special medicine or Magic Items, the manufacturing method of which is handed down from generation to generation.