Chapter 2: Hard mode begins, insanity takes over
Even when Vandalieu opened his eyes the next morning, there was no sign of Darcia.
『This is strange… I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe I should go out to find her.』
Normally, it would be reckless for a six-month-old infant to go outside by himself, but if Darcia didn't come back by the end of the day, Vandalieu would have to venture outside either way.
There was still the one rabbit that Darcia had caught alive, but its blood would only last him until the end of today. He would have to make food suitable for an infant to eat by himself, but he was still only six months old. His stomach found it difficult to cope with food other than blood and his mother's milk.
『Infants eat a lot more than you'd expect. I need to eat five or six times a day, since I'm doing magic practice and physical exercises, so my energy expenditure is quite high.』
Because of this, Vandalieu needed to eat considerably more than a normal infant. If he simply stayed here like the infant that he was, it was possible that he would starve to death in a few days' time.
Because he was a Dhampir rather than a human, he wasn't sure how long it would take for that to happen.
『Well, I guess I'll start getting ready.』
Though he wanted to go out to find Darcia, his body was still unable to walk, let alone run, so he had to make various preparations. First, he had to secure a method of moving around.
『The first thing to do is… Get up.』
As Vandalieu gave this command in his head, the rabbit that he had killed by consuming its blood twitched and began to move.
He had not granted it life. He had used his magic to have the various spirits floating around nearby to possess the rabbit's corpse, turning it into an Undead.
It was a death-attribute spell that created Undead.
『Looks like it worked. I wasn't sure if I could do it or not, since my skill is still only level 2, but it seems it works fine if I use a bit more Mana to compensate. I guess it's because my skill level is low; I can only make a moving corpse. But I can still use it to move around.』
The rabbit didn't have any of the agility that it had when it was still alive; it simply moved. In Origin, he had planned to use this spell to escape. But he could only create these weak servants and they would be of no use against the strict security that he had been under, so he had given up.
The amount of Mana that he had needed to create this single Undead rabbit was far greater than the amount he needed for spells like Sterilization and Bug Killer. When Vandalieu checked his status, he found that his Mana had decreased by 10,000.
Using Sterilization once only cost him a single point of Mana, so the Mana cost of 10,000 was enormous in comparison.
『But one rabbit isn't enough. More of you, get up. You, you and you, get up. You as well, hurry and get up!』
The ivy that Darcia had used instead of rope began to crawl around like a snake.
The small knife that she had used for cooking began lightly floating in the air.
The shabby bed made of wood rattled as it began to shake.
Vandalieu could have spirits possess more than just corpses. He could make them possess inorganic substances such as ivy, wood and metal. The idea came from fantasy and occult works that he had seen on Earth - evil spirits that possessed weapons to move on their own without a bearer, cursed gems or vases and Poltergeists that that caused furniture to move on its own.
However, having spirits possess inorganic substances required several times more Mana than having them possess a corpse.
『I used nearly 1,000,000 Mana just now. My head hurts a little… I'll leave after I replenish myself.』
Vandalieu sucked the blood from the last remaining rabbit to replenish his Mana, turned that into an Undead as well and then left his home, riding on the bed.
『Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up! Which way is the town? Where can I find somewhere with lots of people?』
The bones of a deer, a mummified bear, a wild boar missing its head and internal organs and a human's corpse that for some reason only had a skeleton remaining. These servants carried Vandalieu's bed as he continued onward.
If anyone other than an adventurer or soldier were to witness this sight, they would surely tremble with fear.
An infant with silver hair and odd-colored eyes, one deep crimson and the other a bluish-purple, leading an army of Undead. A terrifying sight indeed.
But he looked more fearsome than he actually was.
The Undead corpses and bones of animals. The tools and furniture that had been cursed to be made Undead… Any one of these could be repelled by a single farmer wielding a hoe, and any adventurer would only consider them a group of small fry.
Knowing this, Vandalieu continued increasing the number of Undead at his command as he hurried forward.
『Mom isn't in this forest.』
He had commanded a winged insect fly around to search the forest, but there was no sign of Darcia. He asked the spirits that were floating amongst the trees, but they couldn't give him the information he wanted.
His head felt hot, as if it was steaming, and he felt a dizziness that would not subside. He no longer knew how many millions of Mana he had spent. But he couldn't shake off this bad feeling.
『I should have tested making Undead earlier! I should have had an Undead follow Mom around!』
If he had done that, he would know where she was. If something happened, he would be able to sense it straight away.
In fact, if Darcia had known that he was capable of doing these things, she might have decided to leave the forest on the journey for her birthplace earlier.
But he didn't test it. He had lived in peace, thinking that he would test it the next time his skill level increased. He had been spoiled by Darcia, his mother.
『Faster, to the town!』
He had around 50,000,000 Mana remaining. By the time his group of Undead reached Evbejia, the town closest to the forest, night had already fallen.
Evbejia was a small town built in between two villages, with a population of around 2,000. It was governed by Bestero, the Baronet.
It was surrounded by a wall to ward off monsters and there was no way to enter except through the four gates to the north, south, east and west. Unless one could fly through the air.
『You guys wait here. Bone Monkey, you carry me.』
He grabbed onto the back of an Undead he had made from the skeleton of a large monkey he had found in the forest, whom he had named Bone Monkey, and quietly approached the town's outer wall.
It was a town with a population of only 2,000, so it wasn't at particular risk of monster or enemy nation attack. Vandalieu could see holes in their guard system. If the person in charge of the security at the military facility in Origin could see this, he might feel sorry for these people.
Even so, the gates were closed and guards stood watch after nightfall.
There would be chaos if a human-sized skeleton monster approached them. That's why Vandalieu ignored the gates and headed for the walls.
And then he embedded some Mana and a suitable number of spirits into the stone wall.
『Make a hole, big enough for us to pass through.』
The portion of the outer wall, now an Undead wall, wouldn't disobey its master's command. Making small, grinding noises, it changed shape to create a hole to allow passage through.
49,000,000 Mana remained.
[The Death-Attribute Magic skill has leveled up!]
He was barely aware of this announcement inside his head; his dizziness was very severe now. His head felt as if there was a hammer continuously striking his temple.
『Bone Monkey, find an alleyway where there's no sign of any people.』
Bone Monkey continued forward, his bones rattling as they moved against each other. His movements were unrefined and showed no sign of consideration for Vandalieu who was clinging to his back, but it wasn't a problem. Vandalieu wasn't able to walk on his own yet, but his arm strength already exceeded that of a grown man. Holding onto Bone Monkey with both hands, he could easily support his own body weight of less than ten kilograms.
He looked around the dark, almost lightless town. Thanks to his Dark Vision, he could see as clearly as if it were in the middle of the afternoon.
『Find Mom.』
Sending out the Undead bugs to gather information, he listens to information from the spirits floating around the city that are conscious.
Normal spirits that hadn't been turned into Undead normally dissipated quickly after death unless they had an exceptional force of will. That was why Vandalieu thought there wouldn't be very many of them.
『�� She's in the town square.』(Bugs)
Therefore, he was so surprised that his heart almost stopped when he heard this answer given to him.
『To the town square!』(Vandalieu)
Bones rattling again, Bone Monkey moved quickly.
And in the town square, Vandalieu saw Darcia.
She was there.
『Vandalieu… I'm sorry…』(Darcia)
As a spirit that looked as if it would vanish at any moment.
『Mom!』(Vandalieu)
『I'm sorry. Mommy died. But I didn't say anything about you, Vandalieu.』(Darcia)
『What… happened…?』(Vandalieu)
Darcia's spirit, covered in countless whip-marks, began her explanation.
She had come to here, to Evbejia, to gather information to prepare for the journey to the Dark Elf village, where the murder of even a Dhampir would not be allowed.
『After all, Vandalieu, you have one eye the same crimson color as your daddy's, and one bluish-purple like your mommy's. People would know that you're a Dhampir with one look at your face.』(Darcia)
That's why using the highway wasn't an option. So there was a need to find a relatively safe alternate road where monsters wouldn't appear.
But she had been betrayed. The Church of the god Alda knew her name and appearance, and one of their members reported that there was a female adventurer who sometimes came to the town, matching her description exactly.
Darcia had unsuspectingly entered the town only to be surrounded by hired adventurers and ambushed by the knights of Baronet Bestero and the monks of the Church. She had resisted, but eventually captured.
『I fought desperately, but there were adventurers that were even better with a bow and spiritual magic than me, so it was hopeless. After that, they whipped me, asking me, "where is the Dhampir that you birthed, you damn witch?"』(Darcia)
The Church had tortured Darcia severely. They had whipped her, broken her fingers and pressed hot irons into her.
The pain must have reached all the way into her soul; even after becoming a spirit, the scars of the torture remain visible on Darcia's body.
『Even so, I kept quiet, I'm amazing, aren't I? I did well, didn't I? But the Church realized that torturing me was useless, so they burned me at the stake earlier this evening.』(Darcia)
In order to spread the news of their achievement, the news that they were ending the life of the woman who had succumbed to a vampire's seduction, they had executed Darcia publicly.
『So I was burned alive. After that, I wanted to at least go to see you after becoming a ghost, but the Church's High Priest Gordan sprinkled holy water over my ashes. Because of that, I could barely keep myself from disappearing, so I couldn't come to see you.』(Darcia)
As Vandalieu listened to Darcia's words, his vision blurred and he felt a sense of despair and powerlessness, as if his body were rotting away.
If he had left to look for her yesterday, he would have made it in time. If he had come here sooner, he would have made it in time.
While he had been carefree, doing nothing, they were whipping his mother's beautiful, chocolate-colored skin. While he had been satisfying his stomach with the blood of the rabbit, hot irons were being pressed into her.
And while he had been awkwardly wandering about the forest, she was burned alive in public as a criminal.
All that remained of her now was a smile pile of ash on the stone pavement of the town square.
[You have acquired the Mental Corruption skill!]
『If I had grown up faster, if I had trained myself in using magic earlier, if I had taken the time to gather information beforehand… If I had become stronger, Mom wouldn't have had to die!』(Vandalieu)
Maddening emotions swirled around Vandalieu's mind. His expression didn't change much, but his body was shaking in grief and tears of regret and anger flowed endlessly from his eyes.
[The level of the Mental Corruption skill has increased to level 2!]
Darcia watched him sadly.
In truth, she had not wanted to tell him about the horrible things she had endured before her death. But she hadn't been able to stay silent about it.
As a weak spirit on the verge of being extinguished, it was impossible for her to go against the wishes of Vandalieu, a death-attribute mage with an enormous amount of Mana.
And in front of her eyes, Vandalieu's Undead insects returned to him. They had brought back information about Darcia from all over Evbejia.
『My Lord, today's public execution was exciting, was it not?』(Steward)
『Indeed. Even if we did not catch the vampire itself, catching the Dark Elf who opened her legs to him is still a satisfactory achievement. My reputation with His Majesty and the Church grows better, and the day of my appointment to a higher position draws near.』(Feudal Lord)
『The day you can receive the Characters of Correspondence* from Baronet Bestero-sama is also near.』(Steward)
A feudal lord and his steward were happily envisioning a bright future for themselves while enjoying their dinner.
[The level of the Mental Corruption skill has increased to level 3!]
『That damn witch, she didn't say anything about the Dhampir in the end.』(Feudal Lord)
『Hmph, I suppose she was trying to show her motherly love. She should have at least pleaded for her life when we burned her at the stake. She did not show any signs of repentance, right up until the end; she was truly a witch.』(Steward)
『She is surely burning in the flames of Hell now. So from tomorrow, we will be hunting the Dhampir using the Five-colored Blades?』(Feudal Lord)
『Would it not be fine to leave the infant? It has already been three days since the baby who still requires his mother's milk has been separated from her. I am sure it is dead by now.』(Steward)
『Do not be so complacent! Even if it is a baby, half of its blood is that of a Vampire; we do not know what kind of powers it may have inherited! If his father had been of lower breed it would be another matter, but if he was a noble… or a pure-breed, what would happen if you left him!』(Feudal Lord)
『My apologies, High Priest Gordan.』(Steward)
『But we do not have the funds to hire the Five-colored Blades for long, and it would be unwise to add any more to our current achievements. I am sure that they are also not planning to associate themselves with us for much longer. They are adventurers, after all, different from us apostles of the God of Law and Fate, Alda. Have Ebvejia's hunters guide them on the hunt in the mountains and work together with the Baronet-dono's knights.』(Gordan)
『Yes, Sir.』(Steward)
In the Church, the High Priest and holy knights were calling Darcia a witch and cursing her while discussing how to dispose of Vandalieu.
[The level of the Mental Corruption skill has increased to level 4!]
『Today's work was quite simple, huh. That Dark Elf was decently skilled with a bow and spiritual magic, but I'd say she was a D-class at most; she didn't stand a chance against us. Isn't that right, Blue-flamed Sword Heinz?』
『What's wrong, Heinz? You're acting a bit strange.』
『… No, it's nothing. I just have a really bad aftertaste about it.』(Heinz)
『You feel sorry for that Dark Elf? You're the leader of us B-class adventurers, the Five-colored Blades. Don't be going saying naïve stuff like that.』
『I don't know whether she succumbed to the Vampire's seduction or wanted to become immortal, but that Dark Elf was paying for her own mistakes. It's nothing to be concerned about.』(Female adventurer)
『That's true, but I was shown a letter of introduction from the earl. I suppose it couldn't be helped.』(Heinz)
『Well, let's use the gold we earned to get some drinks and food. It's just like eating the meat of the monsters we defeated, you know? That's how we can honor her memory.』
The adventurer group who had been hired to catch Darcia, the『Five-colored Blades』, were saying that they would use the gold they earned from killing her to treat themselves to a meal.
[The level of the Mental Corruption skill has increased to level 5!]
『Cheers! A toast to the Baronet-sama and High-Priest-sama!』
『Hahaha, a toast to Orbie's moodiness as well!』
『Oi, who are you calling moody?!』(Orbie)
『You, of course, you right here. I'm proud to have a companion who would fall in love at first sight with a beautiful Dark Elf coming to the town and then follow her like a hunter after being rejected.』
『What, it's because of that that that we figured out that she was the witch on the wanted poster!』(Orbie)
『It was really a waste, though, huh. Burning a beauty like that at the stake. And now we'll be earning some extra money by going on a hunt for the Dhampir. The knights will probably be in command, but I'm sure we can get paid a bit for guiding them through.』
『What are you talking about, we're going to be the ones to catch the Dhampir. That way we'll be getting a big payout, not just a little bit.』
『You didn't tell them where the Dark Elf's hiding place was?!』
『Good job, Orbie! If we catch the Dhampir, we can sell him to the Church, the Mage Guild, slave merchants, wherever we like!』
The hunters who had betrayed Darcia were now laughing loudly as they planned to capture Vandalieu and sell him.
[The level of the Mental Corruption skill has increased to level 6!]
『If you don't behave, you're going to be burned at the stake like the witch.』
『We can't find the Dhampir, huh. I'm a bit anxious, they should hurry and exterminate him.』
『Is there no chance the Vampire will come back for revenge?』
『It would be a big problem if our village's wine became known as the wine of the village the Vampire came from. I wish this problem would be taken care of already.』
And finally, the words of the townspeople… the people who led very ordinary lives. None of them had any sympathy for Darcia.
[The level of the Mental Corruption skill has increased to level 7!]
What a turn of events.
In all of his three lifetimes, Vandalieu had not thought even once that the world revolved around him, or that it was full of good will.
But he had never thought that it would be this cruel, this vicious.
Earth, Origin and finally Lambda.
This was his third life, but he had not experienced happiness even once. Would he forever be forced to endure the torturous feeling of having things taken from him?
In every one of his lives he had done nothing wrong, but had irreplaceable things taken from him and received nothing in return.
Even the god that he had discovered really existed had made no effort to help him.
『I'm sorry, Vandalieu…』(Darcia)
And then, right before Vandalieu's eyes, Darcia was about to be taken from him as well.
『It seems Mommy's at her limit now.』(Darcia)
Darcia's form, which was already faint to begin with, began to blur and her voice began to waver. Her spiritual form was reaching its limits on how long it could remain in this world.
『Wait! Mom, you can't go!』(Vandalieu)
Darcia would be going to the afterlife, into the hands of that god of transmigration, Rodcorte. If he found out that Vandalieu had lost his mother on Lambda, he would surely be laughing. Rodcorte would laugh at Vandalieu, hoping that he would feel more despair, hoping that he would give up. Vandalieu did not want this, he couldn't allow it to happen, he couldn't bear it.
『I'm sorry. I wanted to talk to you like this a lot more. I wanted to see you grow big, turn into an adult. I wanted to see you find a wife, have children and become happy.』(Darcia)
[The level of the Mental Corruption skill has increased to level 8 - 9!]
『I got it, Mom.』(Vandalieu)
Vandalieu had 45,000,000 Mana remaining. He poured all of it into Darcia's spirit.
『Eh, ah, ah, ah? Vanda - aaaah!』(Darcia)
In the same way as when he created Undead, he poured his Mana into Darcia, whose fleeting spiritual form looked as if it could disappear at any moment. It was like pouring water into a bucket with a hole in the bottom, but even with a hole, the bucket would be filled if a vast amount of water was poured into it.
『Next, I need a vessel that Mom can possess…』(Vandalieu)
He couldn't use a random stone, tool or bone. If he used something like that, it would be difficult for it to preserve Darcia's personality for long.
If it were possible, her original body would have been best, but her body was now a pile of ash.
『Isn't there something I can use?』(Vandalieu)
He had Bone Monkey search the pile of ash and found one of Darcia's scorched bones. It was a fragment small enough to fit into Vandalieu's tiny hand.
『This will do. Mom, inside here.』(Vandalieu)
Darcia, who was having an enormous amount of Mana poured into her, tried to defy her son's request.
This was for his sake.
It was tragic, but she was already dead. Even if she was turned into an Undead, it would be different from when she was alive. Being by her son's side in such a form wouldn't be of benefit to him. In fact, it would have a negative influence.
That was why, even though she wanted to be by his side longer, she tried to separate herself from him as she fought back her tears, but -
[You have acquired the Death-Attribute Charm skill!]
I want to be by his side, I want to be by his side, I want to be by his side, I want to be with him forever! I don't want to separate myself from this child!
『I understand. I'll be with you forever.』(Darcia)
Darcia's mind was filled with one thought, and she willingly inhabited her own remains.
『With this, I've recovered Mom, even though it's just her spirit. I'll create a new body for her one day.』(Vandalieu)
Vandalieu had gathered the Mana needed to maintain Darcia's spirit form and a vessel for her to inhabit. But it was just a bone fragment, after all. But she couldn't move of her own will and could do nothing but sleep until Vandalieu decided to speak to her.
That was why he definitely had to increase his skill with Death-Attribute Magic and create a vessel for her with which she could live a normal life, just as she had when she was alive.
『But before that, I have to get revenge on these guys.』
The Baronet and his servants, the Church, the adventurers, the hunters, the townspeople - Vandalieu would take revenge on all of them.
He would never be satisfied until he did so; it made no sense that they would suffer no punishment whatsoever. It would be far too absurd.
『But right now… I'm at my limit.』
He had less than a tenth of his Mana left. His head was hurting, he was thirsty, hungry and sleepy… He had demanded too much from his six-month-old body.
『I'm sorry, Mom. I'll avenge you later… Bone Monkey, go back the way we came.』
Bone Monkey picked up Vandalieu in his arms and left Evbejia, bones rattling as he walked. The outer wall that had opened a hole for Vandalieu and Bone Monkey to pass through returned back to normal and the group of Undead that had been waiting followed after Bone Monkey.
The people were completely unaware that they had stirred the hatred of someone they shouldn't have.
[The level of the Rapid Healing skill has increased to level 2! The level of the Surpass Limits skill has increased to level 2! The level of the Status Effect Resistance skill has increased to level 2!]
Name: Vandalieu;
Race: Dhampir (Dark Elf);
Age: 0.5 years old;
Title: None;
Job: Ordinary person;
Level: 0;
Job history: None;
Attributes:
Vitality: 18;
Mana: 100,000,600;
Strength: 27;
Agility: 2;
Stamina: 33;
Intelligence: 25;
Passive skills:
Superhuman Strength: Level 1;
Rapid Healing: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!);
Death-Attribute Magic: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!);
Status Effect Resistance: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!);
Magic Resistance: Level 1;
Dark Vision;
Mental Corruption: Level 10 (NEW!);
Death-Attribute Charm: Level 1 (LEVEL UP!);
Active skills:
Bloodsucking: Level 1;
Surpass Limits: Level 2 (NEW!)
Curses
Experience gained in previous life not carried over
Cannot learn existing Jobs
Unable to gain Experience Points independently
Chapter 3: A hikikomori at six months old
Struggling to stay conscious, Vandalieu returned to his home in the forest with the Undead while clutching the fragment of his mother's bone that contained her spirit.
He felt as if he would die of hunger, but fortunately, a raccoon had been caught in a trap set by Darcia, so he drank its blood before passing out.
By the time he woke up, the sun had already risen.
『Good morning, Mom, everyone.』
As Vandalieu opened his eyes, he quietly greeted his new companions in the house… Though he only managed to actually let out an unintelligible noise that sounded like「Aueuh.」
『So, have the hunters come after me?』
Bone Monkey, who was standing next to the bed, shook his head. It seemed that his good fortune had not yet arrived.
『First, if I gather up all the information I learned yesterday -』
The knights of Baronet Bestero who governs Evbejia, High Priest Gordan and the holy knights under his command, the ones who believe in Alda, the God of Law and Fate, would begin searching the forest today to hunt Vandalieu down.
However, the hunter Orbie had not told them where this house was, so they would take some time before they found this place.
But the hunter Orbie himself, along with his companions, would come here first in order to obtain this rare Dhampir baby for themselves.
『Against them, my combat ability is… enough to take on the three of them, I guess.』
He created several hundred Undead yesterday. However, the majority of them were small animals such as mice and insects; there were only around thirty of them that would be useful in combat, including Bone Monkey, but they were fundamentally weak.
When he was alive, Bone Monkey probably had the strength of an orangutan, enough to be able to easily tear off a human's arm. But that wasn't the case now. In fact, when Vandalieu had tested Bone Monkey's strength, he found that Bone Monkey was even weaker than himself. Though in this case, perhaps the abnormal thing would be Vandalieu's own strength, not Bone Monkey's weakness.
Bone Monkey was even less agile than a normal human. As for endurance, he would be resistant to arrows and knives due to being made only of bones and dead flesh, but if he were to be hit a few times with a hoe, he would fall apart.
On top of that, when Vandalieu somehow managed to check Bone Monkey's status screen, he had no passive skills or Undead skills.
The Undead that Vandalieu had at hand right now were all Rank 1. After all, they were all monsters that would be defeated by any untrained villager in Lambda in a one-on-one fight.
However, he had thirty of them. With that being the case, he could make something work out with a little ingenuity.
『For now, the insects will find the enemy. Bone Monkey and four others can guard me inside the house. The others -』
Vandalieu decided to turn the tables on Orbie and the other hunters first. He had wanted to hear about various things from Darcia, including information about his father, but it would be problematic if the hunters arrived while he was doing that. So he would catch them first before listening to what Darcia had to say.
Orbie continued through the forest, leading two of his hunter companions with whom he had been drinking yesterday. No matter how elite the holy knights were, they wouldn't be able to find the hiding place the Dark Elf had built right away.
They would definitely be able to catch the baby first. He was sure of it.
「Oi, I'll just make it clear that -」
「I know. I don't plan on turning into bear or wolf food before we get rich.」
Being professional hunters, they were confident. This forest wasn't some Devil's Nest where monsters were prevalent, but it was inhabited by dangerous beasts such as bears and wolves, and even some weak monsters like Goblins also lived here.
Being cautious on the lookout for threats like these, they continued making their way through the forest.
「This is strange. Aren't these the footsteps of a big monkey? And the ones here are… a bear?」
Fortunately, their caution had allowed them to spot the footsteps left by the Undead as they made their way back from Evbejia.
「You think so? Aren't they a bit shallow for the footsteps of a monkey and a bear?」
However, in Orbie's eyes, the footsteps looked too shallow. Footsteps left in the earth would be deeper the heavier its owner was, but these footsteps appeared to belong to a very light creature.
「The shape is weird, too. They look a bit small and the bear's ones are missing some toes.」
The reason they appeared that way is because the creature who had produced them was an Undead made only of bones; its body weight was less than half that of when it was alive, it was missing the pad of its paw and several of its digits had been broken off.
The adventurers would take precautions if they were facing this strange monster as their main enemy, but -
「I'm sure they just look like that because there are multiple beasts' footprints overlapping each other.」
Orbie and his companions had only experienced hunting monsters from time to time to earn a little extra money, so they didn't think much of it. The knowledge that this forest didn't have many monsters helped them push the footprints from their minds, thinking it was just their imagination.
「We're almost there. There's a cave dug out in a small cliff; that was her hiding place.」
「Alright, let's go catch that baby while it's still alive.」
And so Orbie and his companions reached Darcia's home.
The trees were sparse in front of the house, with small spaces in between them. There were traces of fire that had been used for cooking and other signs that someone had been living here.
「Hmm? There are quite a lot of things lying around.」
As the hunters looked around, they saw many tracks that looked as if they had been dug up, as well as ivy and animal bones scattered around.
「Sheet, let's go inside.」
Clicking his tongue, Orbie opened the door to check whether the baby was still here.
『Uoooon~』
At that moment, the earth rose up with a resentful-sounding groan.
「What is this?! A golem?!」
「Yeah, it's an Earth Golem!」
The Earth Golem with a body made of dirt that had been lying in wait was now standing up.
「Hyiih?! There are Undead beneath the Golem!」
Underneath its body were the Undead skeletons of a wolf and a bear.
「Run!」
「Where?! We're surrounded!」
Orbie and his companions who had approached the door were now surrounded by the Golem and Undead.
The weapons available to them were their short swords and their bows and arrows. Even if the rank of the Golems and Undead were the lowest possible, these were the worst weapons to fight them with.
「Uwah?!」
「A Snake! No, it's ivy, the ivy is moving!」
And then the ivy on the ground that should have been dead began moving like a snake and winding itself around the hunters.
「Sh-sheet! Let go, let go of me!」
Even as they drew their short swords to try and cut the ivy, the Golem and Undead pressed onto them and various pots began flying through the air and throwing themselves at the hunters' heads.
They couldn't escape. Orbie and his companions were captured alive.
『I guess it went well.』
Seeing the hunters bound by the Undead ivy, unable to speak, Vandalieu gave a sigh of relief.
He had spirits inhabit the ground outside the house to create an Earth Golem and then buried the Undead beneath it. The Undead and the Golem didn't breathe, and they simply smelled of dirt like the rest of the forest, so the hunters couldn't notice them if they were completely still.
The same applied to the ivy and pots. They wouldn't suspect that the discarded items scattered around the ground would turn out to be Undead.
『Well then, I want to hear what these guys have to say -』
Orbie and his companions opened their eyes wide in shock at the sight of Vandalieu riding on Bone Monkey's back, looking down at them. They had never imagined that the baby they had been planning to capture would be commanding Undead at this age.
This was the difference between Vandalieu and the High Priest Gordan, who reprimanded his subordinates.
『But first, I have to establish a way to have a conversation.』
Vandalieu, who was still only able to mumble unintelligible sounds that sounded like「auau~」couldn't converse with the hunters.
And so Vandalieu created a Sand Golem out of the gravel and sand.
『Mogomoga~!』
The hunters began making fearful noises at the sight of the human-sized golem rising up from the gravel and sand. They were likely assuming that they were about to be killed.
However, the Sand Golem did not raise its heavy fist above their heads; parts of it instead crumbled off in front of them to form words in sand on its body.
[Stop making so much noise, be quiet. Answer my questions.]
『Nice, it worked.』
He had thought that if it was possible to make turn part of Evbejia's outer wall into a Golem to change its shape, it would be possible to change the shape of the Sand Golem to form letters. This idea seemed to be a great success.
Well, he had to supply the Golem with a considerable amount of Mana, which took its toll on his mental endurance.
But the problem was whether the hunters would be able to read Japanese characters.
In order to test this, he unbound the hunters' mouths, who had now fallen quiet.
「… What do you want to know, you can ask whatever you want. But in exchange, spare our lives…」
「Yeah, we'll tell you anything we know.」
「We'll keep quiet about this place. So please let us go.」
And then they began pleading for their lives. It seemed that in Lambda, the spoken and written language was Japanese.
『That's convenient, but why is that the case? Now that I think about it, according to the knowledge Rodcorte shared with me, he summoned champions from another world to Lambda in the past. Is it because of that?』
Well, he would figure that out when he had time later.
Vandalieu decided to question the hunters through writing and gather information from them. While they could read hiragana and katakana, it seemed that they were mostly incapable of reading kanji (their initial pleading for their lives had been done by guessing the situation rather than being able to read Vandalieu's writing). Since this meant that Vandalieu would need to write more characters with the Sand Golem, it increased the amount of Mana he needed to spend and took a greater toll on him.
But not all of his questions would have favorable answers.
[What is a Job?]
「Huh? What, you want us to tell you our Jobs? We're hunters, of course.」
[What are Experience Points?]
「Eh…? Experience Points are Experience Points, right?」
[Who is Alda, the God of Law and Fate?]
「Ah, that's a god.」
What is a Job and what are Experience Points in Lambda? Vandalieu was asking simple questions, but the hunters were not giving helpful answers.
From the hunters' point of view, Vandalieu's questions were too simple. It was like asking on Earth,「What is air?」or「What is water?」Even so, if the hunters were educated and had enough vocabulary, they would be able to give useful answers, but Vandalieu understood that he couldn't expect this from these hunters.
『I'll ask Mom about stuff like that later.』
Darcia would answer any of Vandalieu's questions with an easy-to-understand explanation. After all, she was a mother raising her child.
[Tell me about Baronet Bestero and his knights.]
Vandalieu decided to change gears and ask information that they would know about the other enemies.
「The feudal lord who took over about ten years ago is a person with a lot of ambition. He doesn't have any other special characteristics; he's your typical nobleman. I haven't heard about anything that makes him different from the other nobles.」
「There are five knights; he uses them as soldiers as they're stronger than the rest of us. Though it seems they undergo training as well.」
「Th-that's why they're not that strong. In fact, why don't we get rid of them together? If we team up with you it'll be simple.」
Vandalieu decided to ignore that last part. It seemed that Baronet Bestero did not have many pawns and they were apparently not particularly skilled. This area was likely considered a peaceful region by its population.
At least, its population considered it as such.
[Just answer my questions. Tell me everything you know about High Priest Gordan and his holy knights.]
「The high priest and his holy knights are never in the town. They came to the town about half a month ago with wanted posters featuring a Dhampir and the witch that birthed it… that is to say, you and your honorable mother… Err, he's a clergyman who is famous as a Vampire-slayer, and with the holy knights, they're like a collection of elite individuals.」
「Yeah, for a clergyman, he's a ridiculously strong freak who used that strength to climb all the way to the position of High Priest. He's already killed multiple Vampire and their subordinates… Vampire-samas and their dedicated subordinates. He has already dealt with Vampire-samas that had lived for hundreds of years, and rumors have it that he's comparable to a B-class adventurer.」
「But if you team up with us, we're familiar with the terrain so outwitting him will be easy. See, so please make us your subordinates!」
『I see. That priest is a capable Vampire-hunter, huh… Next I want to know about the Five-colored Blades, but before that… This is a good time, so let's have a meal first.』
He had the Undead bring one of the three male hunters forward.
「What is this? You're making me your subordinate? We'll definitely be helpful to you, our skills with a bow are well-known around Evbejia… Hyiih! We'll really be helpful, we'll do anything for you, so please spare me!」
Bone Monkey had grabbed a hold of the man���s head so that he cannot move his neck. He was begging for his life in a high-pitched voice, but Vandalieu wasn't listening.
His fangs plunged into the man's neck.
「Kyaaaah!」
「Johann!」
Ignoring the screams of the man called Johann and the other hunters, he greedily devoured the blood, filling his throat with it.
『It feels greasier than rabbit's blood, and it tastes a bit saltier as well.』
Of course, he would have preferred to be held by Darcia and drink her milk. But this was his first meal of the day, so he simply continued drinking Johann's blood until his screaming stopped and he fell limp.
『Fu… Ah, Bone Monkey, give my back a little pat. Yeah, right there… *Burp*~』
As Vandalieu burped, he showed the now deathly-pale body of Johann to the other hunters.
And then he directs words of sand at them once more.
[Didn't I tell you to just answer my questions?]
Seeing the dead Johann whose blood had been completely consumed and Vandalieu's expression that had not changed in the slightest after killing him, Orbie and the other remaining hunter simply nodded their heads.
They were facing a mere baby, but this baby had no childish naivety or pity. They finally realized that Vandalieu would not hesitate to kill them if they showed the slightest sign of disobedience.
[Now then, what do you know about the Five-colored blades and Heinz, the Blue-flame Sword?]
From that point, his interrogation of Orbie and the other hunter proceeded smoothly. The example he had made of Johann was incredibly terrifying.
The Five-colored Blades were a group of five adventurers and Heinz was its leader, a highly successful B-class adventurer even though he was still in his teenage years.
The other members were Class, so they were a group of capable individuals.
『As I thought, he and High Priest Gordan are enemies I can't defeat in my current state.』
The next thing he asked them about was the geography of this region - the area surrounding Baronet Bestero's territory and the places that High Priest Gordan and his knights would be searching right now.
The answers to these questions were quite helpful. He had asked the animal spirits inhabiting Bone Monkey and the other Undead as well, but he hadn't managed to get a good idea of the situation from them.
The spirits were more talkative than they had been yesterday, but they were originally animals and insects, after all. They didn't have the sense of distance and direction that a human could use as a reference.
There was no problem when they guided him around, but trying to make a map out of their information inevitably resulted in chaos.
『Well then, I should stock up on food and water while I have the chance.』
High Priest Gordan was searching a different place right now, but this forest was not that large. They would be able to search the whole forest within ten days.
With that said, trying to make a hasty escape would be a poor choice.
Due to the mismatched eye colors that Vandalieu possessed as a special Dhampir characteristic, he couldn't conceal his true nature so he couldn't approach any areas inhabited by humans. However, without somewhere safe to hide like the house in the cave, living outdoors would be too dangerous.
The reason for that being -
『I'm only six months old, so I need a lot of sleep. In fact, I'm quite sleepy right now.』
Despite the fact that one of his parents was a Vampire, no matter how high his attribute point values were, no matter how many skills he had acquired, he was still a baby. Though it was considerably better than when he was only a month old, he was still frequently sleepy and found it difficult to stay up for long periods of time.
He could resist the effects of sleep deprivation with his Status Effect Resistance skill, but that would have negative effects on his development. Darcia wouldn't want that.
Therefore, Vandalieu decided to stay hidden until High Priest Gordan gave up the search. He had never imagined that he would be living a hikikomori's lifestyle at six months of age, but this was necessary to survive.
「Oi, what's wrong? Don't you have anything more to ask?」
「If that's the case, let us go!」
Orbie and the other hunter began to make some noise, but their role as information sources had already been fulfilled. The ivy covered their mouths once more.
「Wait! Please, let us go! I have a muguuh-」
I have a - what? A fiancé? A wife? A young daughter? An aging mother? Considering that he sold out a mother with a young son, what was he trying to say?
Even if he had something, it made no difference to the roles the hunters were to play.
Vandalieu informed them of this through sand letters.
[You are merely food for me.]
Two muffled screams came from the hunters.
Once upon a time, there were two great gods in this world.
The great black god, Diachmell.
The great white god, Arazan.
The two gods fought each other. Nobody knew which of them was good and which of them was evil. However, nothing existed but the two of them, so they fought each other.
It seemed that the conflict between the two gods would go on forever, but in the end, Diachmell and Arazan defeated each other simultaneously.
The great black and white gods lay on top of each other and new gods were born from their shells.
Vida, the goddess of life and love.
Alda, the god of light and law.
Zantark, the war-god of fire and destruction.
Peria, the goddess of water and knowledge.
Shizarion, the god of wind and art.
Botin, mother of the earth and goddess of craftsmanship.
Ricklent, the genie of time and magic.
Zuruwarn, the god of space and creation.
These eight gods of the elements as well as the dragon-emperor god Marduke, the Colossus god Zerno and the beast-god Ganpaplio were known as the eleven founding gods.
These eleven gods did not use their power to fight each other like the great gods that came before them; they worked together and created the planet Lambda.
The eight gods of the elements created humans, modeled after themselves, and began to teaching and guiding them as their followers.
The dragon-emperor god Marduke created dragons, and the Colossus god Zerno created Colossi as their followers.
To provide food for them, the beast-god Ganpaplio birthed countless birds and wild animals and released fish into the seas.
The war-god Zantark and the goddess Botin gave birth to the Dwarf race, while the goddess Peria and Shizarion gave birth to the Elves. "People*" became a general term that applied to all sentient races, and the creatures that had been known as people up until that point came to be known as humans*.
The world created by these events was peaceful. The people believed in their gods, the dragons and Colossi were wise; there was plenty of wildlife in the mountains for them to eat without fighting over territory and there were bountiful blessings in the sea.
However, the peace was shattered by the appearance of the Demon King Guduranis from the abyss beyond the stars.
After descending upon Lambda, Guduranis began a war to take over the world using the evil gods that were his servants.
The Demon King's tainted Mana gave birth to monsters such as Orcs and Goblins that had never existed in Lambda before, and the Demon King used them to fight the other gods.
Though the people of Lambda had polished their fighting skills for competition and hunting the wildlife that sustained them, they were thrown into chaos as they had never experienced a fight to the death and the gods were driven into a corner. The war-god Zantark, the dragon-emperor god Marduke, the Colossus god Zerno and the others fought bravely with their followers and the genie Ricklent bestowed magic upon the humans and gave them commands, but they could not turn the tides of the battle. The beast-god Ganpaplio put up a good fight, but was eventually destroyed.
To fight the Demon King's forces, Zuruwarn, the god of space and creation, summoned seven champions from another world.
The seven champions taught the people techniques for fighting, gave them the knowledge to make great weapons and fought bravely at the frontlines themselves.
And so, through battle after battle, the Demon King was finally destroyed and sealed away; not even a single piece of his body remained. The evil gods that were his subordinates lost their powers; some were destroyed and others were sealed away into a death-like state.
However, the final result was difficult to call a victory.
The war-god Zantark was cursed by the evil gods and fell into darkness; Peria sank into the depths of the oceans and Shizarion returned to the wind. Botia was sealed deep within the earth while Ricklent and Zuruwan entered a deep sleep to regain their power.
Marduke was torn to pieces and Zerno's heart was destroyed. Their followers' powers weakened; the number of dragons grew fewer and the weaker drakes increased in number*. The Colossi became monsters that worshipped evil gods.
Finally, there were only three champions left and the population of the people had decreased to the point that even if the Elves and the Dwarves joined the remaining humans, who had a considerable population before the conflict, they were barely able to maintain a single city.
The remaining population was not enough to sustain civilization and culture. Even after the Demon King was defeated, the surface of Lambda was overrun by monsters that had been corrupted by his Mana during the conflict with his forces and Devil's Nests existed all over the place. The surviving monsters began to breed and multiplying endlessly.
Alda, one of the two gods who still had power left, chose to work with the champions to guide the surviving people. However, the goddess Vida believed that creating new races of people and having them join the other races would be a faster way to restore Lambda.
Vida was the goddess of life and love. Her powers were more suited to creating new races than for battle.
First, she mated with the Sun Giant Talos, who had retained his noble spirit and virtues without becoming a monster. She gave birth to a race of Titans with robust, large bodies that could barely fit in human towns.
Next, she mated with Tiamat, the most powerful of the surviving dragons that had been Marduke's followers, and gave birth to a race of Drakonids, humans with the power and horns of a dragon.
And then, with the kings of the beasts that had followed Ganpaplio, she gave birth to a great variety of beast-people, and with Tristan, the god of the seas who had been Peria's right-hand man, she gave birth to the Mer-people.
Following that, she mated with an Elf that had been in her service at that time, giving birth to the Dark Elves, who had the same Mana that Elves did while also possessing outstanding physical prowess.
Alda criticized the goddess's actions, saying that they would only plunge the already-ruined world into further chaos. As the god of law, Alda could not stand idly by as Vida gave birth to new races, one after another.
But Vida believed that her actions were correct, so they could never come to an agreement in their discussions.
Finally, Vida mated with monsters to give birth to Lamia, Scylla, Arachne, Centaurs, Harpies, Majins and other monster races.
And then she infused the power of the life attribute into one of the champions who had fallen in the battle with the Demon King, Zakkart, to turn him into an Undead. She mated with him to give birth to Vampires.
The original Vampires had powers that rivalled that of gods in every aspect. And they were able to share this power with the other races. By giving their blood to others, they could turn them into Vampires.
But Alda was outraged at the fact that Vida had mated with monsters and given birth to Vampires.
With the three remaining champions, he set out to exterminate Vida, who had given birth to a race that would overthrow the balance of the the world, and the race that she had given birth to.
Of course, to protect the new race of her children, Vida and the revived champion Zakkart fought against Alda and his followers. However, by the smallest of differences, she was defeated and was dealt a deep blow, fell from her position as a god and disappeared into the Devil's Nests with the champion Zakkart.
Alda was victorious, but he did not have the strength to eliminate the remaining Vampires. In addition, the goddess of the life attribute had now disappeared, and Alda now had to take up her role despite the fact that his own body was now exhausted.
Alda now called himself the god of light, law and life, and his followers praised him as the God of Law and Fate. But even 100,000 years after the battle with Vida, the world was still in a state of chaos.
『This is the legend of the origins of Lambda.』(Darcia)
『Thanks, Mom. That was very helpful.』(Vandalieu)
After Vandalieu finished preparing to hide in the house, he asked Darcia, whose spirit was residing inside the bone fragment, about how the world of Lambda came into existence.
He had continued creating Golems from the earth and rock of the cave, instructing them to stand guard there. In order to prevent the house from caving in, he had the Golems made from the earth and rock from deeper within the cave to move towards the entrance, while digging the cave deeper towards the back. And then he released the spirits from the Golems so that they sealed the entrance.
He could change the Golems' shapes as long as he had Mana, so he had thought that he would be able to use them for construction, and he was right.
He had left broken furniture and vases when he sealed the entrance in order to make it appear as if the cave had collapsed. But he was just praying that High Priest Gordan wouldn't give an order like,「Dig out the cave until you find that Dhampir's corpse!」
He had already filled up the cave over fifty meters from the entrance while expanding it deeper, something that would normally be impossible without ordering some large-scale construction or hiring an earth-attribute mage.
He had left a fist-sized hole to allow air to pass through, so there was no problem there. He didn't need any lighting, thanks to his Dark Vision skill.
Vandalieu was prepared for his new underground lifestyle.
And now he was talking to Darcia to pass the time.
『So this is Mirg, a country in the northwest part of the Bahn Gaia continent that's a part of the Amid Empire. The Empire and its countries worship Alda, the God of Law and Fate, as the official religion. No wonder it's so dangerous.』
Alda was a god who had fought Vida over the races she had given birth to, saying that they would throw the world's balance out of order. It was no wonder that a half-Vampire would be subject to persecution… no, extermination.
The Amid Empire and the Adventurers' Guilds in its countries, where the Church of Alda had a strong influence, had extermination requests openly on display. Incidentally, the part used as proof of extermination… The proof of extermination that was required was a deep crimson eyeball.
It made sense to hide in the forest in such a situation.
It seemed that Dark Elves like Darcia, as well as beast-people, Drakonids and the other races that Vida had given birth to following the battle with the Demon King were also targets of persecution.
In the Amid Empire and its countries, only humans, Elves and Dwarves were accepted as "people"; Titans, Dark Elves and beast-people were discriminated against as "demi-humans". The most conspicuous discriminatory behaviour was that "people" were only used as slaves if they were criminals, while there were no restrictions on the buying, selling, ownership and use of "demi-human" slaves.
Including Vampires, the races that Vida had given birth to by mating with monsters were, of course, simply exterminated as monsters. Though the reality was that for every Vampire and Lamia that the adventurers and soldiers of the Amid Empire killed, there was a dead adventurer or soldier killed in retaliation, and even civilians suffered casualties.
The followers of Alda claimed that this was proof that they were evil, that their god was right. Meanwhile, Vida's followers believed that the reason they had become monsters that harmed humans was because they had lost the guidance of the goddess. In other words, it was all Alda's fault. This argument had apparently continued for many tens of thousands of years.
『Next, tell me about my father, Vampires and Dhampirs.』(Vandalieu)
『Alright. But it's time for your afternoon nap, so I'll continue when you wake up.』(Darcia)
『Okay~』(Vandalieu)
『You have acquired the Golem Creation skill!』
Name: Vandalieu;
Race: Dhampir (Dark Elf);
Age: 0.5 years old;
Title: None;
Job: Ordinary person;
Level: 0;
Job history: None;
Attributes:;
Vitality: 18;
Mana: 100,000,600;
Strength: 27;
Agility: 2;
Stamina: 33;
Intelligence: 25;
Passive skills:
Superhuman Strength: Level 1;
Rapid Healing: Level 2;
Death-Attribute Magic: Level 3;
Status Effect Resistance: Level 2;
Magic Resistance: Level 1;
Dark Vision;
Mental Corruption: Level 10;
Death-Attribute Charm: Level 1;
Active skills:
Bloodsucking: Level 1;
Surpass Limits: Level 2;
Golem Transmutation: Level 1 (NEW!);
Curses
Experience gained in previous life not carried over
Cannot learn existing Jobs
Unable to gain Experience Points independently