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The damage to Gorn and his defending force in this battle was great, second only to the damage they had taken during their first battle against Vandalieu.
They had learned their lesson in the prior battle; when the fake Cuatro exploded, they had immediately created defensive walls with magic and physical objects like rock and ice, and the God of Mirror Images Larpan had switched his focus from impeding Gufadgarn and Legion to protecting Gorn and his allies. The explosion itself had also not been as powerful as the first one. Thus, they had fortunately not suffered much direct damage.
However, the Sea Bird Beast-King Valfaz had been slain, and the Iron Colossus Nabanga, who had fallen and landed on the continent, had been confirmed to be dead.
And although the demigods’ wounds were relatively light, they were not so light that they would be able to fight again at full strength right away.
As for the leading members of the defending force, Gorn, the commander on the battlefield, had suffered terrible burns on his right arm, and four of Brateo’s fingers on his dominant hand had been broken. Madroza’s wounds were lighter than Gorn and Brateo’s, but she had suffered a wound to her abdomen as well.
However, not all of the damage they had received was visible to the eye.
“It is likely that the previous battle and this one were to confirm the existence of us space-attribute gods, and to test our ability to see how long we can impede the teleportation of Gufadgarn and Legion,” said Larpan, the God of Mirror Images.
Gorn and the others grimaced.
At the beginning of the battle, Vandalieu had stood on Cuatro’s stern and called for Gorn and his allies to surrender. After that, he had cast spells that (to Gorn and his allies’ knowledge) only the real Vandalieu could cast.
Based on this, Gorn and his allies had determined that the ship Vandalieu was on was the real Cuatro – or rather, made the assumption that even if it was a fake, it wouldn’t self-destruct since Vandalieu was aboard.
They were aware that Vandalieu had learned of the space-attribute gods lying in wait during the previous battle. Thus, they had not imagined that he would discard his only means of escape when he was aware that his teleportation would be blocked.
However, the fake Cuatro had indeed self-destructed, and Vandalieu and his companions were still alive and well, having escaped without giving pursuit to Gorn and his allies.
“He has learned our formations, chipped away at our forces, and they should have a good idea of Larpan’s power. It is likely that the next time he appears, he will be intent on pushing through until he reaches Botin,” said Gorn.
“This is no time to be talking calmly, Gorn!” shouted Brateo. “The monsters of the Demon King’s Continent that you’ve gathered are still too few in number! The hole we must try to fill is only growing deeper, and we are making no progress!”
“Please calm down, Brateo,” said Madroza. “Based on what we know from the previous battles, Vandalieu will not appear again so soon. He and his allies have exhausted themselves as well.”
Several days had passed between Vandalieu’s second and third attack. It was likely that he had spent those days preparing another fake ship to detonate.
Thus, Madroza assumed that it would be another few days before the next attack.
“We don’t know that. If he intends to devour Botin’s soul in the next attack, then maybe he won’t use a fake exploding ship that takes days to build,” said Brateo.
“Madroza. We do not know if Vandalieu will come tomorrow or in several days’ time. However, that does not change the fact that we must regain our fighting strength and prepare to intercept him,” said Larpan.
“Indeed,” Madroza said in agreement, but she did not withdraw her argument. “However, making futile moves will only make the situation worse. Brateo, even if you continue trying to gather the continent’s monsters, with those injuries, you will only make yourself a target for counterattacks.”
Gorn had previously suggested using the demigods’ descendants who had become monsters – Giants and Dragon-type monsters – as disposable pawns against Vandalieu.
Naturally, they would not gather these monsters by persuading them or striking a deal. They would threaten them and force them to do their bidding. They were not expecting the monsters to understand their plan, and they were not expecting to be able to coordinate their attacks with the monsters.
Having them charge at Vandalieu would be enough. They didn’t need to train them or form bonds with them like Nineroad had with her familiars. And even if they were to change sides and join the enemy, it would be no great loss.
When the God of Thunderclouds Fitun attacked the city of Morksi, some Thunder Dragons had fled in fear of Vandalieu, while others had become attached to him and tamed by him.
Even if the same thing happened this time, it didn’t matter. They were disposable pawns, with their number as their only useful quality. Gorn and his allies would simply attack the ones that turned against them along with Vandalieu’s forces.
If Vandalieu took pity on these monsters and tried to protect them, it was possible that this extra task would hinder him, so it would even be a good thing if that happened.
However, these disposable pawns would be facing the Demon King, so no matter their number, they needed a certain level of quality. If they were of the same quality as the Thunder Dragons and Mountain Giants used by Fitun, they would quickly be decimated by the attacks of that flying ship.
That was why the demigods had been running around the Demon King’s Continent, gathering monsters of Rank 10 or greater, but… now that Brateo and Gorn each had one unusable hand, if the monsters took notice of that, it was possible that they would find an opening to escape or make a counterattack against them.
Brateo grunted. “… You’re right.”
“Brateo, Larpan, there is something I must say,” said Gorn. “I intend to move our defensive line from the sea around the continent, back to the coast.”
“Gorn, have you lost your mind?!” exclaimed Brateo. “That would allow Vandalieu to come closer to the seal! Not only that, but it would mean that Madroza and the others would have to fight away from the sea. What are you thinking?!”
“It’s impossible to continue meeting the enemy above the sea. And because there is some distance to the pseudo-Divine Realms, the support that Sirius-dono and the others can provide is limited,” said Gorn.
Pure gods like the God of War Horns Sirius, who did not possess physical bodies like demigods, had been able to descend upon the world during the Age of the Gods, but this was a difficult feat now. It consumed a tremendous amount of power, so even descending for a short period of time would require them to exhaust all of their power and fall into a long slumber afterwards.
However, even in the current age, there were ways for gods to descend without consuming much power. One of those ways was to descend upon pseudo-Divine Realms, which were certain spaces in the physical world that had been made to be similar to the Divine Realms in which gods resided.
Gorn and his allies had created numerous such pseudo-Divine Realms on the Demon King’s Continent, and they were using them to allow Sirius and other gods to descend upon, and as safe zones where they could rest.
However, in the end, they were nothing more than pseudo-Divine Realms. Gods descending on them were unable to move outside them. And the creation and maintenance of pseudo-Divine Realms was usually not an easy task.
Large quantities of Mana or a large-scale religious ritual were necessary to create a pseudo-Divine Realm, and this cost needed to be paid at regular intervals in order to maintain it.
Gorn and his allies used the miasma on the Demon King’s Continent to meet the enormous Mana requirement. The continent was filled with so much miasma that the environment had distorted to the point of resembling a completely alien world. Maintaining a few pseudo-Divine Realms had no effect on the continent at all.
And even if the miasma being used to maintain the pseudo-Divine Realms was condensed or spread out into the surroundings, the continent couldn’t possibly become any more contaminated.
However, creating more pseudo-Divine Realms would be difficult. If they wanted more support from Sirius and the other gods than just playing music imbued with Mana from afar, they would need to be closer.
“We could not defeat Vandalieu during the first battle; in fact, we are the ones who suffered heavy losses. It was clear at that point that we cannot keep meeting him in battle over the sea,” said Gorn. “Don’t think of this as a sign that we’re being driven into a corner. Think of it as a plan to lure him within our reach so that we can take him down.”
Brateo made a dissatisfied noise. “It cannot be helped. Half of the monsters you gathered can’t fly, after all.”
With Brateo’s reluctant agreement, Gorn’s forces began making preparations for Vandalieu’s next assault.
Upon hearing that Kanako had something important to discuss, Vandalieu had imagined that it would be to do with the next concert, or making a recruited member she’d become close with a permanent member, or perhaps she had an acquaintance suffering from an incurable illness or a physical defect that she wanted him to cure.
But he was wrong.
“Van, ‘Guider’ has appeared,” said Kanako.
“… So there are more people who want to become idols?” said Vandalieu.
TLN: In Japanese, “Guider” (導士/doushi) and “like-minded” (同志/doushi) are homonyms, so Vandalieu thought that Kanako had encountered like-minded people.
“Van, that’s ‘like-minded.’ I’m talking about ‘Guider,’ the kind that guides. A ‘Guider’ Job has appeared for me.”
It seemed that Kanako had gone to change Jobs after her previous Job reached Level 100 after the Dungeon-clearing in Gartland several days ago and today’s stage performance. When she did, a Guider-type Job had appeared among her available Jobs
“It’s a Job that hasn’t appeared for you, called ‘Artistic Guider’… is this ok?” asked Kanako, looking worried.
Vandalieu put a hand on her shoulder. “There’s nothing to worry about, Kanako. You won’t start seeing only weird Jobs appear just because you take a Guider Job.”
“… Umm, that’s not what I was concerned about.”
“Huh? It’s not?”
Vandalieu was expressionless as always, but Kanako realized that he was genuinely surprised.
“Of course it isn’t,” Kanako said. “My Jobs might be normal compared to yours, Van, but to the average person, they’re definitely weird.”
She had started with normal Jobs like ‘Apprentice Thief,’ ‘Mage,’ and ‘Archer,’ then she had acquired ‘Firework Technician,’ a Job that was unknown to human societies, and after that, her Jobs were ‘Magical Girl,’ ‘Magical Idol’… If one did not compare them to Vandalieu’s Jobs, they were certainly strange.
“What I’m worried about is that if I take the Job, our guidances might clash, canceling each other’s effects out or becoming weaker,” said Kanako. “There aren’t any known historical cases of two Guiders being together, are there?”
The emergence of a Guider was not a frequent event. It was normal for a single Guider to emerge across one long era.
It had once been said that ten Guiders existed at the same time during a period of time that was dark and chaotic even for Lambda’s standards, but… in the current age, it was known that this account was mostly false, and only two individuals during that time had actually been confirmed to be Guiders.
Thus, Kanako’s concerns were reasonable.
“I think it’s fine,” said Vandalieu. “It’s true that there are no cases of two Guiders being together in history, but there are in legends. Over a hundred thousand years ago, all seven of the champions who fought the Demon King Guduranis were Guiders. In other words, I’m sure it’s a matter of the contents of the guidances.”
“The contents? For example, your guidance affecting Undead and certain kinds of monsters?” said Kanako.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Vandalieu believed that if two different guidances were to clash, then it would be a result of the contents of the guidances. A guidance was an ideology and a doctrine. There were ideologies and principles that could co-exist, and others that clashed with each other. Guidances were the same.
Of course, if the Guiders themselves strived to coexist and avoid clashes, and kept their ideologies separate from one another, then it was likely possible for them to avoid clashing.
The champions of a hundred thousand years ago had also divided into two groups – the creation-oriented champions and combat-oriented champions – and these two groups had antagonized each other. But Vandalieu had heard from the gods that even though this was the case, they had maintained a minimum level of cooperation and they had not conflicted to the point of being hostile towards each other, at least on the surface.
“We can only make guesses as to what kind of guidance the ‘Artistic Path’ is, but we can get a pretty good idea from the name of the Job and the things that you’ve accomplished up to this point. I don’t think it will clash with my guidance,” said Vandalieu.
‘Artistic Guider’ was, in short, the result of Kanako’s idol activities in this world. She was the first person to introduce idols to this world – idols that were not simply popular individuals or religious images. Not only had she become an idol herself, but she had also encouraged and taught people who had been born and raised in this world to become idols as well. That was why the Job had appeared to her.
And Vandalieu had supported her idol activities. He had created transformation equipment as she requested, provided Knochen as a stage for performances and used split entities of himself as equipment and, more recently, as performers.
In human society, he was known as the creator of transformation equipment, and he was known to be helping Kanako as the son of Darcia, who had already made her debut on stage.
Even if Vandalieu were to find another music or performing-art-related Guider Job in the future, it was unlikely that it would clash with Kanako’s ‘Artistic Guider.’
“… Alright. Then I’m off to go and become an ‘Artistic Guider!’ It sounds like it’ll provide some nice bonuses to my Attribute Value growth and my Skills, and I’m sure we’ll have even more audience members with the effects of the guidance!” said Kanako.
“See you later,” said Vandalieu.
Ordinary Guiders weren’t able to lead others easily like Vandalieu could. They would need to teach their ideology and spread their guidance gradually, but in Kanako’s case, she would lead through her art… her singing and dancing.
Though it would not be as rapid as Vandalieu’s, her guidance would likely spread with each stage performance. However, there was one concern: One could assume that her guidance would target even those who were not a part of her audiences.
“… Maybe I should let Melissa and Zadiris know first?” Vandalieu wondered to himself.
The guidance that Kanako was about to acquire was likely to also affect those who performed on stage with her. There was a chance that even Melissa, who had reluctantly performed a handful of times, and Zadiris, who was only performing to create more ‘Princesses’ around her, would be guided.
“Kana-chan was laughing and saying ‘I’m going to go and become a Guider’ as she headed towards the Job-changing room, so I guess her problem has been solved,” said Darcia.
“Yes, Mom… If she’s going around and spreading the news herself, maybe I don’t need to tell them?” said Vandalieu.
“You mean Melissa-chan and Zadiris-san? You don’t need to worry about them. If they’re really opposed to it, they won’t be guided, and if they’re guided, then it means that they weren’t opposed to it,” said Darcia.
“I suppose you’re right,” Vandalieu said in agreement.
As Darcia said, one could not come under the effect of a guidance unless all of the conditions for them to be guided were met.
However, there was something that Vandalieu had not realized. Guider-type Jobs affected those around the user before they appeared as a Job available for them to select.
This effect was a faint one that was not represented by numbers in one’s Attribute Values or Skills. However, that effect was something that even Vandalieu, as a Guider himself, had taken notice of after Kanako’s stage performance in Gartland.
In other words, Melissa, who had reluctantly agreed to work with Kanako, and Zadiris, who was currently performing on-stage with the recruited members in Morksi in Kanako’s absence, had already been guided… It was too late!
“Well, we need to celebrate, so let’s celebrate by making a sauté, chicken katsu, and a chicken curry with Valfaz’s meat. And let’s make something with Valfaz’s feathers,” said Vandalieu.
“Making deep-fried katsu using a defeated enemy… That’s a little ironic,” Darcia remarked.
TLN: I’m not sure exactly what Darcia means here. One possibility is that it is some kind of wordplay, as the word for “irony” 皮肉/hiniku, and the direct kanji translation for the word is “skin and meat.”
Following this mother-son conversation, Vandalieu headed for the Job-changing room himself and touched the crystal ball inside.
《Jobs that can be selected: Dark King Mage, Fallen Warrior, Insect Ninja, Chaos Guider, Hollow King Mage, Eclipse Cursecaster, Demon Ruler, Creator, Pale Rider, Tartarus, Wild Spirit, Dark Battery Cannoneer, Magic Staff Creator, Soul Fighter, God Destroyer, Qliphoth, Dark Beast User, Spirit Therapist, Artisan: Transformation Equipment, Hollow Shadow Caster, Balor, Apollyon, Demigorgon, Soul Devourer, God Devourer, Nergal, Ravana, Shaitan, Chi You, God Spirit Mage, Ouroboros, Rudra, Blood Ruler, Demon Electricity User, Yin Guider (NEW!), Divine Guider (NEW!), Juggernaut (NEW!)》
“More new Jobs… and even two Guider Jobs,” Vandalieu murmured to himself.
Was a ‘Yin Guider’ one who led shadows, or one who led others into the shadow… Was it perhaps a Job similar to ‘Demon Guider’ and ‘Dark Guider?’ As for the other Guider Job, Vandalieu knew why it had appeared.
TLN: ‘Yin’ here is the ‘Yin’ in ‘Yin and Yang,’ and roughly translates to ‘shadow’ or ‘dark side.’
“It’s probably because I guided Gufadgarn, as well as Bashas and the others.”
As it was a Job for guiding gods, this was likely the case. However, he also got the feeling that if that was true, it had taken a little too long to appear. Perhaps it was a Job related to guiding others into the realm of godhood… past Rank 13. Or perhaps it was simply a Job that did not appear until one had guided a certain number of gods.
As for ‘Juggernaut,’ Vandalieu didn’t have a good idea of what kind of Job it could be based on his current knowledge. Perhaps it was the name of something from the myths and legends of Earth.
Even with the ‘Perfect Record Technique’ Skill, I still don’t know what I don’t know.
Vandalieu had visited Earth after acquiring the ‘Perfect Record Technique’ Skill, and he had stocked up on new knowledge while he was there, but he had no knowledge regarding ‘Rudra’ or ‘Juggernaut.’
“Well, seeing new Jobs that I don’t know much about isn’t anything out of the ordinary. Now then, what should I take next?”
Although Vandalieu’s Skill Levels had increased with the ‘Destruction Guider’ Job, his Attribute Values hadn’t increased at all. He could select another Guider Job to increase his Attribute Values, or because his current enemies were mostly demigods, perhaps it would be better to take ‘God Destroyer’ or ‘God Devourer.’
“Select ‘Dark King Mage.’”
It would be problematic if he took another Guider-type Job and his Attribute Values continued to not increase, and he would be using ‘Dark King Magic’ against the demigods. And he would also be using ‘Dark King Magic’ to remove the seal on Botin. It was about time that he chose the ‘Dark King Mage’ Job.
《The Levels of the ‘Dark King Magic,’ ‘Chant Revocation,’ ‘God Spirit Magic,’ and ‘Spirit Therapy’ Skills have increased!》
- Name: Vandalieu Zakkart
- Race: Dhampir (Mother: Goddess)
- Age: 11 years old
- Title: Ghoul Emperor, Eclipse Emperor, Guardian of the Cultivation Villages, Holy Son of Vida, Scaled Emperor, Tentacle Emperor, Champion, Demon King, Oni Emperor, Trial Conqueror, Transgressor, Black Blood Emperor, Elder Dragon Emperor, Food Cart King, Genius Tamer, True Ruler of the Entertainment District, Patron Saint of Transformation Equipment
- Job: Dark King Mage
- Level: 0
- Job history: Death-Attribute Mage, Golem Transmuter, Undead Tamer, Soul Breaker, Venom Fist User, Insect User, Tree Caster, Demon Guider, Archenemy, Zombie Maker, Golem Creator, Corpse Demon Commander, Demon King User, Dark Guider, Labyrinth Creator, Creation Guider, Dark Healer, Disease Demon, Magic Cannoneer, Spirit Warrior, Bestower, Dream Guider, Demon King, Demiurge, Whip Tongue Calamity, Divine Enemy, Dead Spirit Mage, String User, Great Demon King, Vengeful Berserker, Destruction Guider
- Attributes:
- Vitality: 577,752
- Mana: 8,940,478,230 (+8,046,430,407)
- Strength: 59,631
- Agility: 52,968
- Stamina: 63,430
- Intelligence: 68,171
- Passive skills:
- Monstrous Strength: Level 6
- Super Rapid Regeneration: Level 4
- Dark King Magic: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)
- Status Effect Immunity
- Magic Resistance: Level 9
- Dark Vision
- Dark Dream Demon Creation Destruction Path Enticement: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)
- Chant Revocation: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)
- Guidance: Dark Dream Demon Creation Destruction Path: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)
- Constant Mana Recovery: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
- Super Strengthen Subordinates: Level 3
- Deadly Venom Secretion (Claws, Fangs, Tongue): Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
- Strengthened Agility: Level 9
- Body Expansion (Tongue): Level 10
- Augmented Attack Power while Unarmed: Small
- Strengthened Body Part (Hair, Claws, Tongue, Fangs): Level 10
- Demon Thread Refining: Level 1
- Mana Enlargement: Level 9
- Increased Mana Recovery Rate: Level 9
- Strengthened Attack Power while activating a Magic Cannon: Very Large
- Augmented Vitality: Level 2
- Strengthened Attribute Values: Reigning: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)
- Strengthened Attribute Values: Worshiped: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
- Strengthened Attribute Values: Demon Empire of Vidal: Level 1
- Self-Regeneration: Cannibalism: Level 3
- Augmented Attribute Values: Cannibalism: Level 3
- Strengthened Attribute Values when Enveloped in a Soul: Medium
- Murder Healing: Level 2 (NEW!)
- Self-Strengthening: Murder: Level 2 (NEW!)
- Active skills:
- Blood Rule: Level 1
- Transcend Limits: Level 8
- Golem Creation: Level 7
- Hollow King Magic: Level 6
- Precise Mana Control: Level 3
- Cooking: Level 8
- Divine Alchemy: Level 1
- Soul Destruction Fighting Technique: Level 5
- Greater Multi-cast: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
- Surgery: Level 8
- Embodiment: Level 4
- Coordination: Level 10
- Super High-speed Thought Processing: Level 6
- Commanding: Level 10
- Thread-reeling: Level 8
- Throwing: Level 10
- Scream: Level 8
- God Spirit Magic: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
- Demon King Artillery Technique: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
- Armor Technique: Level 10
- Shield Technique: Level 10
- Shadow Group Binding Technique: Level 7
- Transcend Limits: Fragments: Level 2
- Spirit Therapy: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)
- Whip Technique: Level 3
- Spirit Form Transformation: Lightning
- Staff Technique: Level 2
- High-speed Flight: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)
- Musical Instrument Performance: Level 1 (NEW!)
- Unique skills:
- God Devourer: Level 8
- Deformed Multiple Souls
- Mental Encroachment: Level 9
- Labyrinth Creation: Level 5
- Great Demon King
- Abyss: Level 10
- Divine Enemy
- Soul Devour: Level 9
- Vida’s Divine Protection
- Earth’s Gods’ Divine Protection
- Group Thought Processing: Level 7
- Zantark’s Divine Protection
- Group Control: Level 7
- Soul Form: Level 4
- Demon King’s Demon Eyes
- Origin’s Gods’ Divine Protection
- Ricklent’s Divine Protection
- Zuruwarn’s Divine Protection
- Perfect Record Technique
- Surpass Limits: Soul: Level 2
- Mutation Induction
- Demon King’s Body (Merged with the Demon King’s mucus glands!)
- Demigod
- Curses
- Experience gained in previous life not carried over
- Cannot learn existing jobs
- Unable to gain experience independently
Having checked his Status, Vandalieu left the Job-changing room and thought about the things he needed to do.
“I need to teach Matthew and the others how to fight, then there’s the screening of the battles in Alcrem and the Demon King’s Continent, and after that, I need to persuade Seris and the others to become Abyssal Vampires. I need to practice instruments, do my ‘Muscle Technique’ training every day, spend time with my family… and let’s also implement the restraining measures on the enemy that Chezare suggested.”
Vandalieu had learned from Valfaz’s spirit about the Boulder Colossus Gorn’s plan to make up for the forces he had lost, and he didn’t mind simply letting it be carried out. An army of monsters commanded by a tamer would be a threat, but a disorderly mob of forcibly-gathered monsters was much less so.
… There was also the fact that the plan to slip past Gorn and his allies to remove Botin’s seal directly from underground was underway, so it was convenient that their attention was focused on gathering monsters.
However, it was probably wise to execute the restraining measure that was suggested by Vandalieu’s trusted vassal, the general and prime minister Chezare, to prevent Alda’s forces from deploying reinforcements to support Gorn and his allies.
The Goddess of Flow Pargtarta was a subordinate god of Peria, the Goddess of Water and Knowledge, and as she carried out her duty of guarding her slumbering master, she received reports from the defense force that had been deployed to the Demon King’s Continent by Alda’s forces.
She was not currently in command of the defense force. Alda had approached her to ask her to take command, but she had declined because she had no experience in giving orders.
However, she was an old goddess who had existed since before the Demon King Guduranis’s invasion, and a trusted advisor of Peria, so the gods of the defense force made sure to keep her informed.
“Vandalieu was thought to be after Botin-sama on the Demon King’s Continent, but it seems that he is also searching for this place, where Peria-sama slumbers,” one of the young gods reported.
“Today, one of the Elder Dragons of the defense force discovered a strange insect, and it turned out to be Vandalieu’s familiar, created using fragments of the Demon King. They immediately hid themselves and let it pass, however, so we do not believe that he is aware of the location of this holy ground,” said another, speaking in a dire tone.
Pargtarta’s beautiful face was clouded with distress. “Either he is intending to attack this place while pretending to be after Botin, or he has changed targets because Gorn-dono and the others are putting up a sturdy defense. In either case, we cannot let our guard down. It will be hard on the defense force, but please be extra vigilant so that we can protect our masters,” she said, bowing her head to the younger gods.
However, she did not believe that Vandalieu intended to devour the souls of Peria and Botin. She had already determined that this was a baseless assumption made by Alda.
But she had not made direct contact with Vandalieu, nor had she been told this by Peria, so this was only conjecture on her part.
Still, her master had decided that it was best for her to not know anything. If this was the best flow, then she just needed to do as her master trusted her to do.
TLN: 流れ/nagare, the Japanese word for “flow”, also has another meaning, something like “course of events.” In this context, it is similar to “outcome.”
“Please raise your head, Pargtarta-dono! After all, the great Alda has sent us here so that we can protect you and Peria-sama from the evil Demon King’s minions!” one of the young gods said.
“Please leave it to us. It is our duty to protect the order of this world and defeat evil!” said the other.
Knowing nothing made it easier, in fact, for Pargtarta to deal with these young gods.
The fact that Vandalieu sent one of his familiars this way must be to constrain the movements of the force defending Peria as well as Alda and the other gods, preventing them from sending reinforcements to the force defending Botin and concentrating their strength in one place, or perhaps it is just a way to cause confusion. Things are flowing well, she thought to herself.
Gorn and his allies had been attacked three times, while the force defending Peria had not been attacked even once, so wouldn’t it be best for Peria’s defense force to send reinforcements? Or wouldn’t it be even better to send the whole defense force to join Gorn and his allies in order to combine their strength to battle against Vandalieu?
It was true that there were gods who advocated for this. At this rate, if Vandalieu continued to corner Gorn and his allies, this plan of action might be taken.
With these thoughts running through her mind, Pargtarta saw the oblivious young gods off as they gave fervent speeches and returned to their posts in high spirits.
Another thought – the realization that she had become a wicked goddess – suddenly ran through her mind, but she told herself that this was also part of the flow and tried not to dwell on it.
Job explanation:
Destruction Guider
A Job for guiding those who desire destruction… those who wish for their own destruction, extreme pessimists, and Undead who wish for their own existences to be extinguished. Thus, it is inevitable that one who acquires this Job will meet their own ruin.
However, Vandalieu has already experienced multiple other Guider Jobs, and the guidance of this Job is merged with that of the other Jobs, so it has become a Job that creates change in those who wish for their own destruction, and guides them to other paths.
The Job provides bonuses to Leveling Skills that place a burden on the user such as ‘Surpass Limits’ and its variations, as well as those that take effect upon destroying others such as ‘Slaughter Healing,’ but it is an extreme Job in the sense that it provides no growth to Attribute Values at all.
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NOVEL DISCUSSION
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Korath
“What I’m worried about is that if I take the Job, our guidances might clash, canceling each other’s effects out or becoming weaker,”
Its not the best comparison, but in the video game Diablo 2 there was a class, who could do diverse shouts, that gave buffs for a certain amount of time, e.g. more life or defense. You could level it up in the 40s. (In Van’s case he would run around with 1.5 million hps instead of 500k at this point of the novel.( Duration was longer and the buff itself also was stronger. But a big downside was, that a lvl 1 noob also could cast it and overwrite it. It was way weaker and ran out after 30 seconds.
So Kanako’s worry is valid, if you count a video game as evidence for a fantasy novel. 😀
EZ_CRIMSON
So im currently halfway through a reread…. and just had a random thought and came here to post it….
Isnt this whole thing going to end with a goku spirit bomb style attack\battle…. where Vandalieu has all of his allies praying to him at once to power him up?
I mean starting with the noble orc empire arc till the latest chapter, he is basically traveling the world making allies…. or even worshipers….
I can clearly envision a future where they are all praying at the statues that have been erected in basically every region of the world at this point as he battles alda\heinz\bellwood\braver leader guy.
ObserverBias
Not that particular image necessarily (he still has yet to gain an active ability that directly scales with followers worshipping him, and the Gehenna Bees discovered the ‘Priestess’ occupation a while ago, around the time he got ‘Enhanced Attributes:Worshiped’). And the ‘larger’ chunk of his traveling was to interact with those who would become part of his empire, as (he thinks) a proper ruler should.
,
Besides that, it leans hard on Alda/Heinz/Bellwood/Amemiya being capable of syncing up and /keep/ up with Van or his forces, some of whom have already followed Van into Legendary ranks themselves.
Silverdrem
Am i misunderstanding something or did Van just acquire that Musical Instrument Performance Skill thanks to Kanako’s New guidance? Because if i am getting this right them that would mean that Van-sama is under under the effect of a guidance, with ALL the benefits that are included such as faster growth and atribute buffs.
Lord Rin
No he already had it a little while ago. He decided to get it to help out in the concerts because his singing voice was so flat that even getting the Singing skill wouldn’t have helped. He’d probably still end up under Kanako’s guidance though. However the effects of Guidances aren’t all the same. Artistic Guider sounds like it probably doesn’t give much of a buff to attributes except maybe endurance since you’d need it for dancing or playing instruments. It’s main effect probably makes it easier for people being guided to gain skills that have to do with art or entertainment and increase their levels more easily.
red1reaper
Yoshi you are a very evil person, by providing such a wonderful translation quality now i am spoiled and cant read lower quality translations without cringing. And yes this is a very contrived way of praising you.
Humble Bumblebee
Kanako receiving a guider job is the beginning of the end. Alda’s worst nightmare isn’t an all out military conflict with Vandalieu, it’s having Vandalieu’s ideals appeal to the humans and convert them to Vida. And that is where Kanako comes in.
Phantom Knight
Darn, talk about a hidden landmine of a job?!! After seeing the description for Destruction Guider, it is no wonder why people are so cautious about completely new jobs.
Van-sama is luckily one of the few people who cam safely use the job.
VRWinterSolstice
Pretty sure the irony in “katsu” is that the word katsu can also mean “victory.” So you could say there is some irony in using the meat of the “defeated” to make “katsu (victory).”
Vitor
Zadiris still doesn’t know… but it’s already too late for her
Lord Rin
So the thing Kanako wanted to discuss turned out to be about her getting a Guider job appearing on her list of available jobs. Well now she’ll be eligible for the Champion title since all you need to get the title is to come from another world, get a Guider job and be acknowledged by a god. Kanako is from another world and she’s about to get her Artistic Guider job so all that’s left would be to get acknowledged by a god of Lambda which should be that hard. They can talk to Vida pretty much whenever to get her acknowledgement. Well technically all of the other Bravers also have the potential to become Champions too but none of the others who’ve reincarnated have done anything Guider-y so they aren’t likely to get the title. Anyways so now that Kanako is a Guider, I wonder if anybody else will also become a Guider too? Oh I really hope Zadiris gets a Princess Guider or Magical Girl Guider job. It’d be hilarious. Darcia could also be eligible for the Magical Girl Guider job since I remember Vida being worried about how she might become the Goddess of Magical Girls because of Darcia.
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So it turns out two demigods died in the last battle and Gorn is still plagued with dealing with Brateo’s idiocy. Also they assume Van needs time to prepare for his next attack but little do they know that Van can attack whenever and is just taking time because he’s got other things to do like practice musical instruments and trying to convince some vampires into becoming abyssal vampires and that doing so won’t turn them into weirdos like Isla.
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So the reason that Destruction Guider wasn’t increasing Van’s attribute values really was just because it was a job with extreme characteristics that work solely on people’s skills.
Ignitra
It was already explained that being a guider doesn’t make you a champion and a champion doesn’t need to be a guider, otherwise heinz would be a champion. It just turn out that champions guided people in the battle against guduranis so they had those jobs available
bookworm12
Champion = otherworlder + guider + acknowledged by gods as their champion. Heinz can’t become one because he is not an otherworlder.
Lord Rin
No as bookworm12 explained you need to be both an otherworlder and a guider to gain the champion title. In side chapter 10 Rodcorte mentions that being a Guider is a requirement for being a champion while chapter 149 gives an explanation of the title of champion at the end of the chapter that says a person also needs to come from another world and be acknowledged by the gods and at least 10,000 people. It also specifically mentioned that people like Heinz and Schneider can’t acquire this.
bookworm12
Good point about Kanako possibly becoming a Champion. That would be fun. They explained a lot in this chapter. The source of Van’s discomfort was Kanako on the verge of becoming a new Guider, the Alda gods’ plan was just to gather various monsters as a distraction in battle (which Van knows and is amused by), and Van’s stats stopped growing temporarily because of the Destruction Guider job (although Van will probably still be worried since he doesn’t know what we now know). Sounds like Van really dodged a bullet by not taking Destruction Guider earlier as his second Guider job or something. “Thus, it is inevitable that one who acquires this Job will meet their own ruin.” Scary. Also, more hypocrisy from Alda’s gods with the disposable monsters (they brainwashed Heinz by showing him Firdig and monsters who were designed by the Demon King to die after the battle) and polluting the Demon King’s Continent further despite being so anxious before about avoiding nuclear contamination.
Humble Bumblebee
Somehow “he can charm the dead” and “our allies are dead” never led to the conclusion that “he can charm information out of our dead allies so we should probably change plans.”
ObserverBias
They probably don’t reconcile the idea “he can perma-kill us” with “he can choose not to long enough to mine info, or has any inclination not to.”
Though considering how ‘new’ Death Attribute is as a concept to them, they probably have no idea that gods can have ghosts.
Dyneamaeus
Might be worth noting that Van is a native Demi-God, and Darcia IS Vida. Kanako might get the Champion title by virtue of being their adopted sister/daughter.
EjPuzatiy
Alda’s Demigods
WE MUST READY OURSELFS FOR THE FUTURE DOOMSDAY!
Van’n’Co
Party time
nadirku
I think part of the joke of the line: “Making deep-fried katsu using a defeated enemy… That’s a little ironic”
is that “Katsu” can be associated with victory, and success, right?
In the series “Restaurant to Another World”, there is a lion gladiator who gets obsessed with eating pork “katsudon” because of it’s association with victory, if I remember correctly… Also, a brief look at “katsudon” notes a tradition for Japanese students to eat katsudon the night before a major test, or entrance exam.
Viral
TLN: I’m not sure exactly what Darcia means here. One possibility is that it is some kind of wordplay, as the word for “irony” 皮肉/hiniku, and the direct kanji translation for the word is “skin and meat.”
The irony is more likely to do with the kind of dish prepared “Katsu”, because it an homophone with 勝つ (to win, vanquish, defeat). This is why katsu-don for example common food for people that is going to try something difficult like an important sports match or entrance examination.
To prepare “Katsu” using a defeated enemy is like making a double appeal to being victorious.
MihaelZ64
Great chapter as always yoshi. Gorn is not a bad tactician but choosing to defend rather than ambush tactics is going to cripple/kill him in the end. Van and his allies heal after 1 day, all he is doing now is playing into van’s small hands ^^. I wonder what Botin will do once awake.
Doc
What ambush/kill tactics? You can’t ambush an enemy if you don’t know where they are or where they’ll show up. The one time they tried it failed horribly. And they’ve been trying more aggressive defense options, that’s also not working as they keep losing gods/demi-gods with nothing to show for it. Pulling back his forces to concentrate his strength closer to their base of operations is the wisest strategy right now for him.
Ultimately it won’t work because Van is just going to tunnel to Botin anyway, but he don’t know that.
bookworm12
Thank you, Doc. They don’t know where Van is, so he could easily get around them if they concentrate all their forces into one area for an ambush. Since they do know Van is trying to reach Botin, they could try to ambush him by hiding out in a close circle around Botin, but from that range Van would be able to fire off his Hollow Cannon and kill Botin. Or so they think, so they can’t do that either. Actually that would probably bother Van the most since he has to concentrate to remove the seal and they’d get in the way. As it is, they’re kind of stuck trying to keep up a solid perimeter without spreading themselves so thin that Van could just ram through and head straight to Botin.
Humble Bumblebee
They did try to ambush Vandalieu at the start and that moron pair of lightning colossus and dragon jumped out and spoiled it before they could finish surrounding him.
Chiu ChunLing
I have to point out that believing Van and allowing him to free Botin is also a strategy. It would probably be best combined with defecting to Vida’s faction, since Alda probably won’t be very happy.
I’m nominating that as a wiser strategy than concentrating his defenses.
Entropy
Thanks for the chapter. Still curious about the proper noun jobs as well as the guider jobs especially the divine guider. I am betting Van will probably choose 3-5 more non-guider jobs and then try another to see if his stats increase probably chaos or divine guider. I am guessing blood ruler or the hollow mage/caster jobs might be the next ones since they at least give Van an idea of what they do. Mind you considering who he is fighting, kind of surprised he did not go with god destroyer/devourer since that would be easy to max out.
ObserverBias
Pargtarta’s mantra: “This is the way.”
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Really hope that works out for her.
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Also, so ‘that’ was the weirdness at the Demon King Continent concert. It was a demigod witnessing people being double-dipped on Guidances. Hmm. As they’ve gone over, there ‘shouldn’t’ be any issues (especially since Kanako herself was/is Guided by him), but in turn I wonder if Van can be Guided by her? He has participated in the concerts (to some extent) and his defensive sigils over Ttt… Vidal? (What did we settle on for the capital?) probably count as “modern art.” What could he get out of it, probably boosts to movement-related skills?
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Ahhh, and that’s probably why Destruction Guider wasn’t raising any attributes, eh? It’s literally the kamikaze Guidance, wouldn’t be much point to raising attributes if one is inviting destruction upon themselves.
Entropy
Maybe he would be a better actor.
bookworm12
The empire is Vidal but the capital is still Talosheim. They should just pull in a bunch of reincarnators turned Guiders so they can buff each other. Van might be resistant to guidance because of his mental state though. Yeah, Van’s lucky he picked other Guider jobs first to modify the effects of Destruction Guider.
Also, thanks for the chapter!
V4NQU1SH
If Van picked Juggernaut, he’ll be unstoppable.
Thanks for the chapter~!
Seinvolf
Thank u always for ur great work…
^^…
no1
Another great chapter Yoshi. Gorn and his team are still planning to fight and Braeto is still not being helpful. So Kanako is a guider now, but with dancing…okay. Vandalieu is a dark king mage now, cool, but his attribute values didn’t change when he took the job, hmm, hopefully better luck with the next job and more guider jobs, yes, the more the merrier. Hopefully Vandalieu will free Botin soon and Pargtarta is just going with the flow I guess. Thank you for the chapter, I hope your hand is getting better Yoshi and hope to see another chapter soon
ObserverBias
Not simply dancing, but ~Art~ . Mind, half her interactions in a previous chapter were with instrument users inspired by the performance, and we got that bit of background that it was /such/ a prestige thing, that bards tended towards ‘rare’ and ‘extremely particular’ in what they could do, so most that had skill were poached by nobility.
Nii07
The two new guidance jobs are really going to wreck Alda’s forces. Since darkness falls under light Van will be able to directly guide quite a few gods from the other camp. Once Botin is awake and and sees how Alda has badly messed up the world she’ll join Peria and defect to Vida’s side. This will probably cause quite a few to the younger gods and demigod to rethink staying on Alda’s side. This might drive Alda insane since Ricklent said that Alda is merely pretending to be calm and sane right now.
Utsuho
Quick note for a correction, Botin would have to learn about more than a hundred thousand years of event on the fly when the seal fall.
Things like : – ‘my Hero is dead’ ‘the demon king is dead.’ ‘Vida started creating half-monsters’
‘Alda and Vida fought with each other’ ‘Alda is called the God of gods’ ‘Alda take badly care of the human for a very long period of time’
‘Bellwood roamed the world but shut down fifty thousand years ago’ ‘Nineroad put all the miasma where Botin was sealed’ ‘One fourth of the soul of her champion is in front of her and freed her’
With all of that its not likely that she will jump on Vida’s side immediately, but rather be a neutral force for a period of time.
Tejing
True, but she’s also a Great Goddess… They can think super fast and in parallel, if Talos’ comments about talking with Vida are any indication, so Botin may come to a decision a lot faster than you think, despite all that she has to catch up on.
bookworm12
That’s a good point, but I think it’s also possible that she has been vaguely aware of events passing by (possibly overheard from guards). Vida was exhausted, wounded, and sleeping most of the time and she still managed to stay more or less up to date. Depends on how the seal works and her abilities as a goddess, I guess. At the very least, she’ll probably recognize both the soul of her champion and the Demon King’s magic.
Chiu ChunLing
Even if all she does is ask “Why are you guys fighting?”, that’s an extraordinarily devastating blow to Alda’s faction. She’s also likely to ask “What do Ricklent, Zuruwarn, Peria, and Zantark think?” That doesn’t do Alda any favors either. I’m not sure whether she already knows about Shizarion, but bringing her up wouldn’t exactly make Nineroad look great either.
Simply not being completely infected with Bellwood’s fanaticism means that she cannot possibly regard Alda as unquestionably right. And the questions are not ones that can be answered in Alda’s favor once they’re acknowledged.
Lord Rin
Honestly I don’t think that many of the younger gods would rethink remaining on Alda’s side. We’ve seen how they act multiple times: self-righteous zealots. They’re like that because Alda specifically elevated people to godhood who are zealous believers in Alda’s teachings so they won’t question if what he’s doing is wrong.
Randy Rando
Oh yeah, I forgot. In one of the chapters about the gods who supported Aurthur and Co. before they defected to Van’s side the author said that darkness fell under the light attribute in Lambda. I think it was the chapter that introduced them. In the skies above Taloshiem or something? Idk I forget.
Azeroth
Cool destruction guider is nice when fuse with other skill
IRONMAN000elas
Ok i see no comments and I’m mad about it, where is the Wisdom of the Lord and where are the scholars of said Wisdom.
nickname
asleep?
Thk
The struggles of being early my friend.