Thanks to Fallen ($150) for sponsoring this chapter!
King Corbitt, the important nobles of Central including Marshal Dolmad, and the administrators from the other duchies all stared in disgust at the black sword and shield held up by the knight, which had apparently been made from Demon King equipment. Those whose seats were close to the knight even got up to get further away.
That was how terrifying and repulsive the Demon King’s fragments were to them. Perhaps one could understand their reaction by keeping in mind that this sword and shield were made of a very harmful substance that had terrible effects on the human body.
Duke Jahan and the administrator from the Alcrem Duchy were no exception, either. It was true that V Cream was made from fragments of the Demon King as well, and Vandalieu had absorbed a countless number of fragments into his own body.
But that was no guarantee that the equipment being shown by Prime Minister Tercatanis was safe. It was made from the same materials that Vandalieu had a record of using safely, but that alone didn’t make the equipment itself safe. In fact, they questioned whether he could really use the Demon King’s fragments as materials when he wasn’t even in a cooperative relationship with Vandalieu.
“Allow me to be straightforward, Prime Minister. Is it safe to touch? It will not infest someone the moment they touch it?” asked Marshal Dolmad.
“No. Gentlemen, you should all know about Demon King equipment, which is made using the same seals that are placed on Demon King fragments,” said Tercatanis.
“You claim that this equipment is the same? But even Demon King equipment has the risk of going berserk!”
There had been numerous countries recorded in history as having used Demon King equipment in wars. Pieces of Demon King equipment were powerful weapons, rivaling the strength of Artifacts made of Orichalcum. If wielded by a superhuman among superhumans with the strength of an A-class adventurer, a single piece of Demon King equipment could lay waste to the army of a small nation in the blink of an eye.
But the fate of many nations who had won wars in this way was destruction due to the Demon King equipment becoming damaged and rampaging out of control… though of course, it was likely that many of these historical tales were fiction written to warn of the dangers of Demon King equipment.
But Prime Minister Tercatanis was unfazed. “There is no risk of the equipment going berserk,” he declared. “These pieces of equipment have been made from fragments of the Demon King, but they are not Demon King fragments themselves. I believe the administrator from the Birgitt Duchy, which is conducting research into the Demon King fragments, should understand what I am talking about.”
The Birgitt Duchy’s administrator was a fox-type Beast-kin with a long snout.
“… The research being carried out in our duchy is for the purpose of preventing the rampages of the Demon King fragments and sealing them more safely,” he corrected Tercatanis, wearing a bitter expression. “But I understand what the prime minister is trying to say. After fragments of the Demon King or Demon King equipment go on a rampage, they leave behind parts that are not alive… Things like fallen hair, chipped claws, and pieces of shell that have broken off. You are saying that this equipment is the same as these materials?”
Rampaging fragments of the Demon King fired parts of themselves as projectiles, and parts of them were broken off when they suffered damage from external attacks, and these parts were left behind in their wake. The needles and thorns produced by the Demon King’s Needles and the Demon King’s thorns, and the flesh, blood, and pieces of shell left behind by rampaging fragments, were examples of this.
The flesh and blood often evaporated or turned to dust, but needles, thorns, and fragments of bone and shell were often left behind.
Demon King equipment used tentacles or whiskers protruding from the seal as a whip, or the shell on the seal as a shield or a club, or horns protruding from the seal as a spear. But if the parts emerging from the seal were cut off, they could be regenerated.
Although this would depend on the fragment used for the equipment, the parts that were cut off would continue to exist. They would not infest people or monsters that came into contact with them, and even if Mana was poured into them, they would not regenerate.
In other words, they were not alive.
“Up until now, such broken remains have often been sealed at Churches, just like the fragments themselves, or disposed of in some way. However, historical documents in our possession carry records of examples where these broken remains were turned into equipment. After all, they would have become valuable equipment to use against rampaging fragments of the Demon King for those who did not possess Artifacts made of Orichalcum,” the Birgitt Duchy’s administrator said. “Prime Minister Tercatanis is likely attempting to do the same as them.”
“Precisely. But it seems that no matter how many words are used to explain, not everyone is able to understand,” Prime Minister Tercatanis said, taking the black shield from the knight. “Therefore, I shall provide a practical demonstration. Would someone be so kind as to try attacking me? Whether it’s with a sword or a spell, it doesn’t matter.”
Many of the nobles stirred and began murmuring among themselves.
Two of them volunteered, causing an even larger stir.
“May I?”
“I shall join you, then.”
The two who had volunteered were Duke Hadros Jahan and the administrator from the Alcrem Duchy.
“Duke Jahan, who is known to be a capable and valiant warrior,” Prime Minister Tercatanis mused. “Be gentle, please. And I do not think it needs to be said, but…”
“I know. I will aim for the shield. And rest assured; I won’t use ‘Familiar Spirit Descent,’” said Hadros.
Naturally, Hadros and the administrator from the Alcrem Duchy had volunteered in order to test the strength of the shield that Prime Minister Tercatanis had prepared, and report their findings to Vandalieu.
It was possible that Prime Minister Tercatanis’s equipment would go berserk, exposing them to danger, but they thought this was very unlikely. If that happened, Prime Minister Tercatanis himself was the most likely to die.
Hadros took an iron gauntlet from his bodyguard-secretary Ludario and placed it on his hand. “I said that I would not use ‘Familiar Spirit Descent,’ and this is not an Adamantite gauntlet made for combat; it is a gauntlet made of iron for ceremonial purposes. But the Level of my ‘Unarmed Combat Technique’ Skill is 6. It is not as great as my ‘Halberd Technique,’ but I take considerable pride in knowing that it is quite formidable. Are you really sure about this?”
Incidentally, he had said that he would not use the ‘Familiar Spirit Descent’ Skill, but that was simply because he didn’t want to do so in front of Tercatanis and the others. If he did use it, it would be a familiar spirit of Vida descending upon him from the sky, or a split entity of Vandalieu coming to him, rather than a familiar spirit of Alda.
“I do not mind. Even if your attack breaks my arm, or even if I am killed, I promise that you will not be held responsible. Would you like me to get that in writing?” Tercatanis offered.
“No, that’s not necessary,” said Hadros. “Now then… ‘Heavy Fist!’”
His fist began humming. Even though his gauntlet was largely ceremonial and made of iron, because he was born a Titan, he possessed exceptional physical strength. With the skills that he had fostered over the course of his life, he would likely be able to kill an ordinary knight straight through his shield.
His gauntlet-clad fist struck the black shield, creating a loud noise of impact that made the nobles shudder.
But Prime Minister Tercatanis was still standing. He let out a small groan, but not only had the black shield not shattered under Hadros’s fist; it had even absorbed the impact.
Hadros let out a gasp of surprise.
“It has performed even better than I expected,” Prime Minister Tercatanis remarked.
It was Hadros’s gauntlet that had a crack in it. If he had attacked with his full strength, using Skills like ‘Familiar Spirit Descent’ and ‘Surpass Limits’ as well, his fist might have been broken instead.
“But I must apologize for breaking your gauntlet. Allow me to pay for the damage,” Tercatanis said.
“No, I’m not worried about that. More importantly, what incredible strength. I would expect nothing less from a shield made using Demon King equipment. Even a Mythril or Adamantite shield wouldn’t have produced such a result,” said Hadros.
“Indeed. If it were a Mythril or Adamantite shield, even if the shield were to remain unharmed, I’m sure I would not have been,” Tercatanis agreed with what looked something like a sigh of relief.
Indeed, even a Mythril or Adamantite shield could have withstood Hadros’s attack, but they wouldn’t have absorbed the impact, and Tercatanis would likely have been sent flying backwards.
As someone who had been born to the house of a marquis, Urgen Tercatanis did have a taste for learning the art of combat. But it was just a taste. Hadros was a duke, but he was also known as a capable warrior, and there was a considerable difference in their strength.
Following this, the administrator from the Alcrem Duchy cast a few spells that he had also learned as a hobby at Prime Minister Tercatanis’s shield, but the black shield completely blocked both the extreme heat and the extreme cold they produced.
“The shield performs very well, as you can see. I don’t think it is difficult to imagine how powerful a sword made from the same material would be. And as you can see, I have not been infested by the Demon King fragment,” Tercatanis said. “I propose that we mass-produce this equipment and equip our soldiers with it. If there is anyone who objects to this, I would like to hear your opinion.”
With the duke and administrator’s help, he had successfully carried out a practical demonstration of the performance of the equipment that had been made using Demon King equipment. The nobles had reacted loudly when they saw it, but it seemed that this was not enough to reach a majority vote.
The reason for that was the terrible image this equipment would have, simply from being made using fragments of the Demon King, no matter how powerful and safe it was.
If the kingdom’s soldiers were equipped with it, it would immediately raise their strength in combat by a tremendous amount. But given the opposition that would no doubt come from the Church and the soldiers themselves, it wasn’t so easy to carry this proposal out.
Indeed, Hadros opposed the proposal as the ruler of the Jahan Duchy, where the Church of Alda had great influence. The administrator of the Alcrem house opposed it as well.
… Having been told by Rikudou that the Alcrem Duchy and Hadros Jahan had allied themselves with Vandalieu, Tercatanis had to resist remarking, ‘Quite shameless, aren’t you?’
But the two of them claimed that no matter how well the equipment performed, it could not be declared to be safe without observing and verifying the process used to create it. This was a sensible opinion, and the other nobles agreed.
“In order to put this proposal into action, the production process must be checked. If any part of the process is dangerous, then there is still the risk of a Demon King fragment going berserk,” said Hadros Jahan, clearly pressing Tercatanis to be open with this information so that he could report it to Vandalieu.
“And we must also verify whether we can respond swiftly in the event a Demon King fragment does go berserk. As you are aware, Prime Minister, there are specialist researchers in our duchy. If you wish, I could ask them to cooperate with you,” said the administrator from the Birgitt Duchy, promoting the research projects that were being conducted in his region.
On the other hand, the administrator of the Sauron Duchy was in agreement to adopt the equipment. Duke Sauron had attempted to take advantage of the current turmoil in the Amid Empire to retake the former Scylla territory, even at the cost of indebting himself to the other duchies in order to form a united army, but that army had been defeated. Thus, he was frantic to rebuild the duchy’s military forces.
“As we have just witnessed, the equipment’s performance is equal to or greater than Mythril and Adamantite equipment. We would very much like to provide them to the soldiers of the Sauron Duchy who guard the borders of our nation!” the administrator from the Sauron Duchy said.
But the other nobles argued for caution, effectively opposing this.
“Preposterous! What will you do if this ends up provoking the Amid Empire? Even with a few pieces of powerful equipment, your soldiers will be crushed by a large army or elite forces!” one of them exclaimed.
“In the end, they are still just swords and shields that perform well. Even if equipping an ordinary knight with these would let him do the work of a hundred men, an invading army from the empire will number in the tens of thousands. And the Mirg shield-nation’s fortresses are far too sturdy for us to make our own move against them,” said another.
“Indeed. It has already been years since they lost six thousand elite soldiers in the expedition to the Boundary Mountain Range. Given the elite forces that are being rebuilt and the border guards who were never affected by the expedition, it will not be so easy to carry out an assault – and a few well-performing swords and shields won’t change that,” said Marshal Dolmad.
Marshal Dolmad’s words were particularly convincing, drowning out the argument of the Sauron duchy’s administrator.
“Tercatanis, just where and how are you making this equipment?” the king asked. “Don’t tell me that you can’t even reveal where it is made?”
“Your Majesty, I apologize, but I cannot reveal that information here, not even at your command. There is no telling where this information will be leaked, and if someone with radical beliefs were to use this information to plot something, it would lead to a great disaster,” said Tercatanis. “But what I can tell you is that it is being created by the craftsmen, clerics, and alchemists under my command.”
Following this, discussion on this topic continued… In other words, no conclusion was reached, and further discussion was postponed until a later date.
Now then, how much time have I bought with this? Tercatanis wondered. Assuming that the administrator of the Alcrem house and Hadros Jahan will leak this information to Vandalieu…
He had done all of this under the presumption that this information would reach Vandalieu. In fact, it would trouble him if it didn’t.
Vandalieu being fooled by the false information that Tercatanis was creating equipment made from fragments of the Demon King and believing that this was the reason he had been gathering the Demon King fragments… was unlikely.
But I should be able to divert his eyes away from my lord. I’m sure they’ll spend some time looking for an equipment workshop and craftsmen that don’t exist, Tercatanis thought.
The equipment he had prepared for today was something that Rikudou had made himself. There was no workshop, no craftsmen, and no alchemists. This was all an act that he had fabricated.
But he was not the only trickster making his move here.
“… Was this sufficient?” whispered Hadros, so quietly that even the nearby Ludario couldn’t hear him, as he left the council chamber.
“Of course. Thank you very much, Hadros,” whispered the tiny Demon King Familiar hidden in his ear. “I was surprised when you suggested that I sneak into a council attended by the prime minister, but it went unexpectedly well.”
“I did not imagine that you would hide in my ear, either.”
Incidentally, a Demon King Familiar of the same type was also hiding in the ear of the administrator from the Alcrem Duchy.
“I’ve made these Demon King Familiars exceedingly small, after all… though I can’t do anything but see and hear what’s going on outside, since I’m hidden in your ear. And I’ve got a limited lifespan,” the Demon King Familiar said. “But it seems that your intuition was right.”
Having learned from Hadros that Prime Minister Tercatanis had been gathering fragments of the Demon King and Demon King equipment, the first thing that Vandalieu had decided to do was gather more information. The Church of Alda had also gathered multiple fragments in one place so that they could be strictly guarded, but Hadros had sensed that Tercatanis was doing something different.
He had spent many years in the political world, and he had done much business with the Church. His instinct had told him that Tercatanis had a different motive – and he had been right.
“What do you think of the Demon King fragment equipment made by the Tercatanis house?” Hadros asked.
“I have quite a good eye for equipment. The equipment he showed today was about the same as Mythril and Adamantite equipment… In other words, I would say it’s poor work, if I were to put it kindly. If I were to not put it so kindly, it looks like nothing more than a toy to me,” the Demon King Familiar said.
Hadros was a little surprised by Vandalieu’s evaluation of the equipment. But Tarea and Datara, who made transformation equipment and weapons from materials given to them by Vandalieu, would likely give the same evaluation.
“Please calm down and think about it rationally, Hadros. That equipment is made from Demon King fragments and Demon King equipment, which nothing stands a chance against other than Orichalcum,” the Demon King Familiar explained. “It’s problematic for the resulting equipment to be frailer than Orichalcum and only be equivalent to Mythril or Adamantite, isn’t it?”
“Indeed… I suppose it’s like using steel to create a shield that’s only as hard as bronze,” said Hadros. “But if he can create an unlimited amount of equipment just by pouring Mana into the Demon King equipment, isn’t it more convenient than making equipment using Mythril or Adamantite?”
“That’s true, but I find it hard to believe that it will reduce costs as much as the prime minister claims. If this equipment could be mass-produced that cheaply, and this was the reason he wanted the equipment to be adopted, then I think he would have emphasized that point more strongly in today’s council and prepared a large quantity of shields, swords, spears, armor, and such to demonstrate it.”
It was easier to acquire materials from Demon King equipment than carrying them out of dangerous Dungeons or mining them and then refining them. Ordinarily, it would be difficult to create and maintain a safe system that made this possible. But if it was possible, then an infinite quantity of materials could be harvested, just as Vandalieu was doing.
If this was what Prime Minister Tercatanis was trying to show, it was strange that he had only shown a single sword and shield in his demonstration.
“And the sword and shield themselves were crudely made,” the Demon King Familiar continued. “It’s as if someone had taken a lump of material and shaved it down, or as if someone had simply poured the material into a sword-shaped or shield-shaped mold – though I couldn’t see the sword up close, so I can’t be certain.”
“I see,” said Hadros. “That might be the reason behind its lesser performance. Given that, I suppose that’s why he only allowed the shield to be tested. With that being the case, perhaps the craftsmen and alchemists that the prime minister spoke of don’t exist, or if they do, they are nameless individuals with crude skills,” Hadros concluded.
If one thought about it, if there were craftsmen and alchemists capable enough to be employed by the the prime minister involved in the crafting process, they would have included at least one decorative element, even if these were just prototypes, and they would have added properties beyond just being hard and absorbing impacts.
After all, their employer would be displaying their works before King Corbitt, Marshall Dolmad, and every other top-ranking noble who ran the kingdom, as well as the administrators dispatched by every duchy. Their lives were decided by the quality of their work, so there was no chance that they would pass up the opportunity to show their best creations.
And the proposal to equip the soldiers with this equipment meant providing them not only to lowly infantrymen, but to the knights and the generals who commanded them as well. With that being the case, they had to pay attention to the equipment’s appearance as well, not just its performance.
“The fact that no effort was put into the equipment’s appearance means that this is false information. False information that’s been made poorly in a hasty manner, at that,” said Hadros. “Those at the council, including myself, were caught up in how shocking it was that the equipment was related to the fragments of the Demon King, and didn’t pay attention to the details. It’s very helpful that I got to hear your opinion.”
“No, you’re the one who’s been very helpful,” said the Demon King Familiar. “Now then, I will see you another time.”
Hadros felt a squirming in his ear, and something resembling a tiny rhinoceros beetle fell from it. Hadros caught it and wrapped it carefully in his handkerchief.
“Your Excellency?” said Ludario, giving Hadros a quizzical look.
“Ah, this is what’s known as a temporary farewell,” said Hadros. “I’ll tell you the details of what we discussed on the way back to the mansion.”
This place was a danger zone, but Hadros walked towards the reception room in a calm manner so that nobody could tell that he felt endangered. In the reception room, he talked with the administrators from the other duchies, the nobles of Central, and King Corbitt to exchange opinions and information… political talk, in other words. After that, he left the royal castle.
“How unlucky he is. If things happened just a little later, he could probably have stayed holed up safely in his own territory,” Hadros remarked.
“If you are talking about King Corbitt, then you are indeed right, but with things being the way they are, I’m sure he would be in danger no matter where on the Bahn Gaia continent he is,” said Ludario.
“You’re absolutely right, Ludario.”
《You have acquired the ‘Colossus Emperor’ Title!》
Meanwhile, on the Demon King’s Continent, a father and his son were talking to one another.
“So because of that, you have a new older sister and a new stepmother. And for some reason, I just acquired the ‘Colossus Emperor’ Title,” said Vandalieu.
“Papa, you’re amazing! I can’t get enough of this texture!” said Bakunawa as he munched on an enormous boulder.
“I suppose your new friend, Duke Jahan, is the reason for that Title. It simply means that you have been acknowledged not only by the Titans within the Boundary Mountain Range, but outside it as well,” said Tiamat, not seeming particularly interested in the Title. “I am more curious about the woman you have married after me, and your child. Just when did you have her bear a child?”
“Elizabeth-sama is my stepdaughter,” said Vandalieu.
“Why do you use ‘-sama’ for your daughter?”
“Because that’s what I did before she became my stepdaughter, and I felt it would be weird to change that now.”
“… I would think that most would consider becoming the stepfather of a girl you refer to with ‘-sama’ is strange in and of itself, but, well, I shall not mention it. It seems that mortal society is as complicated and mysterious as always.”
That was how Tiamat apparently perceived human society on the Bahn Gaia continent. Duke Alcrem and Duke Jahan would have agreed with her, so she couldn’t be blamed for seeing it that way.
“I wonder what Onee-chan will taste like? Will she be delicious like Papa?” said Bakunawa.
“Come now, boy. You mustn’t eat her,” Tiamat chided. “You are only allowed to eat enemies, things we tell you that you can eat, and Papa.”
“Okay,” Bakunawa said obediently. “I’ll keep it to just licking, then.”
“… Will Elizabeth-sama be alright?” Vandalieu wondered. “But it might be helpful to have Bakunawa remember what she tastes and smells like, in case of emergencies.”
The gluttonous Elder Dragon Bakunawa had a sense of smell whose sharpness was rivaled only by his sense of taste. But his olfactory organs were sharper on his tongue than in his nose. Thus, by licking something, he could learn not only their taste, but their scent as well.
And once he remembered their scent and taste, if they were to ever get caught in his mouth, he would take notice and spit them out before swallowing them.
“The party is apparently able to defeat Rank 5 monsters even without me these days, so she might be fine if it’s just being touched by his tongue,” Vandalieu decided.
“More importantly, you have finally changed Jobs, haven’t you? What have you become this time?” Tiamat asked.
“I have. I’ve become a ‘Demon Ruler’… The moment I did, one of my Inner Worlds that I hadn’t decided on a use for became filled with Demon-type monsters, and my Level maxed out again, so I’ve become a ‘Spirit Therapist,’” Vandalieu replied.
After enrolling at the Adventurers’ School, Vandalieu had been prioritizing the Leveling of Elizabeth and his other companions, as well as Amelia’s treatment, and no powerful enemies had emerged until he learned that Prime Minister Tercatanis was plotting something. Thus, the rate at which his Level increased had become very slow.
But after finally reaching Level 100, he had changed Jobs to ‘Demon Ruler’ because it sounded like a Job whose Level would increase quickly if he did things related to Demons.
As a result, for some reason, one of his Inner Worlds had become filled with Demon-type monsters. There were so many Demons that it resembled some kind of hell, and they called the Vandalieu of that Inner World their king and swore loyalty to him.
And Vandalieu had just noticed that there were slightly less souls floating around him than before.
“I suppose ‘Demon Ruler’ is a Job that allows me to create Demons. The notification in my head told me that I’ve acquired the ‘Demon Binding Technique’ and ‘Demon Transmutation’ Skills, too, though they’ve already fused with other Skills.”
He could create Demons using Mana and his own flesh and blood, and place nearby souls into them. The process was the same as when he created Golems or carried out pseudo-reincarnations.
Because he had already acquired the ‘Qliphoth’ Job and possessed the ‘Inner Worlds’ Skill, a vast horde of Demons had been created and filled one of his Inner Worlds, and that had likely caused his Level to reach the cap once more.
“Ah, I found one. A delicious piece of bone,” said Bakunawa, bringing over a white fragment on the tip of his tongue.
“Hmm. Well then, Vandalieu, your blood–” Tiamat began.
“No, I promised that I’d give the second one to Knochen. Please put your plans for a second child on hold,” Vandalieu said.
- Name: Vandalieu Ark HIllwillow Solder Zakkart
- Race: Dhampir (Mother: Goddess)
- Age: 12 years old
- Title: Ghoul Emperor, Eclipse Emperor, Guardian of the Cultivation Villages, Holy Son of Vida, Scaled Emperor, Tentacle Emperor, Champion, Great Demon King, Oni Emperor, Trial Conqueror, Transgressor, Black Blood Emperor, Elder Dragon Emperor, Food Cart King, Genius Tamer, True Ruler of the Red-light District, Patron Saint of Transformation Equipment, Liberator of Goddesses, Colossus Emperor (NEW!)
- Job: Spirit Therapist
- Level: 3
- 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, Dark King Mage, Pale Rider, Chaos Guider, Divine Guider, God Destroyer, Hollow King Mage, God Spirit Mage, Dungeon Master, Qliphoth, Demon Ruler
- Attributes:
- Vitality: 924,482 (+55,468) (Increased by 67,347!)
- Mana: 16,030,429,383 (+16,030,429,383) (Increased by 503,386,604!)
- Strength: 85,638 (+856) (Increased by 1,232!)
- Agility: 80,370 (+803) (Increased by 2,131!)
- Stamina: 90,628 (+906) (Increased by 1,778!)
- Intelligence: 117,060 (+1,170) (Increased by 2,204!)
- Passive skills:
- Transcendent Strength: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)
- Super Rapid Regeneration: Level 8
- Underworld God Magic: Level 5
- Status Effect Immunity
- Magic Resistance: Level 10
- Dark Vision
- Manas-vijnana Enticement
- Chant Revocation: Level 10
- Guidance: Manas-vijnana
- Constant Mana Recovery: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)
- Super Strengthen Subordinates: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)
- Deadly Venom Secretion (Claws, Fangs, Tongue): Level 9
- Limitless Body Expansion (Tongue)
- Augmented Attack Power while Unarmed: Large
- Super Strengthened Body Part (Hair, Claws, Tongue, Fangs): Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)
- Demon Thread Refining: Level 2
- Mana Enlargement: Level 10
- Increased Mana Recovery Rate: Level 10
- Augmented Attack Power while activating a Magic Cannon: Large
- Augmented Vitality: Level 6
- Augmented Attribute Values: Reigning: Level 1 (Awakened from Strengthened Attribute Values: Reigning!)
- Strengthened Attribute Values: Worshiped: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)
- Strengthened Attribute Values: Demon Empire of Vidal: Level 5
- Self-Regeneration: Cannibalism: Level 4
- Augmented Attribute Values: Cannibalism: Level 4
- Augmented Attribute Values when Enveloped in a Soul: Small
- Murder Healing: Level 7
- Self-Strengthening: Murder: Level 7
- Increased Magical Power while equipped with a Staff: Large
- Strengthened All Attribute Values: Very Large
- Active skills:
- Blood Rule: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
- Transcend Limits: Level 10
- Golem Creation: Level 9 (Combined with Issun-Boshi and Demon Transmutation!)
- Hollow World God Magic: Level 1
- Precise Mana Control: Level 5
- God Cooking: Level 1
- Divine Alchemy: Level 3
- Soul Destruction Fighting Technique: Level 8 (Combined with Knight!)
- Greater Multi-cast: Level 8
- Surgery: Level 9
- Embodiment: Level 6
- Group Coordination: Level 4
- Super High-speed Thought Processing: Level 7
- Group Commander: Level 3
- Thread-reeling: Level 9
- Vengeful Throwing: Level 2
- Scream: Level 9
- God Spirit Magic: Level 6
- Demon King Artillery Technique: Level 8
- Shadow Group Binding Technique: Level 8 (Combined with Demon Binding Technique!)
- Transcend Limits: Fragments: Level 4
- Spirit Therapy: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
- Whip Technique: Level 4
- Spirit Form Transformation: Lightning
- Staff Technique: Level 4
- High-speed Flight: Level 3
- Musical Instrument Performance: Level 4
- Dancing: Level 2
- Muscle Technique: Level 4
- Magic Fighting Technique: Level 3
- Unique skills:
- God Devourer: Level 10
- Deformed Multiple Souls
- Mental Encroachment: Level 9
- Labyrinth Creation: Level 7
- Great Demon King
- Root Source
- Divine Enemy
- Soul Devour: Level 10
- Vida’s Divine Protection
- Earth’s Gods’ Divine Protection
- Group Thought Processing: Level 9
- Zantark’s Divine Protection
- Group Control: Level 9
- Soul Form: Level 5
- Demon King’s Demon Eyes
- God of Origin (Transformed from Origin’s Gods’ Divine Protection!)
- Ricklent’s Divine Protection
- Zuruwarn’s Divine Protection
- Perfect Record Technique
- Surpass Limits: Soul: Level 5
- Mutation Induction
- Demon King’s Body
- Demigod
- Botin’s Divine Protection
- Peria’s Divine Protection
- Inner Worlds
- Curses
- Experience gained in previous life not carried over
- Cannot learn existing jobs
- Unable to gain experience independently
Job explanation: Qliphoth
A Job that allows one to gain the ‘Inner Worlds’ Skill, which creates ten worlds inside their bodies. The size of the Inner Worlds depends on the quantity of Mana that the user possesses.
Some possible conditions for acquiring this Job include traveling to other worlds multiple times and possessing a ‘[X] Binding Technique’ Skill.
Job explanation:
Demon Ruler
A Job that indicates that one is a ruler of Demons who even rules over their creation. Acquiring this Job grants the ability to create Demon-type monsters just like any other familiar. However, one cannot create Demons stronger than themselves, and in many cases, the Demons are considerably weaker (one would reliably be able to defeat the strongest Demon they could create as long as they do not let their guard down). The stronger the Demon, the more Mana is consumed to create it. Vandalieu is no exception to these rules.
A Demon that Vandalieu could reliably defeat as long as he does not let his guard down would be one that the average A-class adventurer would barely be able to defeat by fighting with everything they have.
Incidentally, the definition of ‘reliably be able to defeat as long as they did not let their guard down’ includes scenarios where the Demon attempts to avoid battle by fleeing or hiding.
NOVEL DISCUSSION
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
EjPuzatiy
He done it
Vandaleu finalky became Shin Megami Tensei
Demons, angels, gods
He can fuse them to create the strongest demons, and fill that compendium for Stephen and Igor!
Gohanangered
I’m kinda wondering, where van’s fiancees have been ?
A_wandering_otter
I love how van’s reaction is basically well guess I have a new daughter an wife now
LesNovel
I can’t seem to find the adjustable font sizes anymore,
bookworm12
Thanks for the chapter, Yoshi! I guess Duke Jahan did end up converting to worshipping Vida, just not publicly.
.
.
There was a big fuss over the Demon King equipment, but they still let the prime minister go without making him reveal the location of the fragments and the security details? Making sure the real fragments won’t go berserk is the most important issue to them, and the prime minister has to have them activated to produce his equipment. They may not have agreed to his plan, but he shouldn’t have been able to get away with the excuse that some extremists will come in and sabotage some set-up that none of them have been able to confirm. If his plan was real, and his actual security was that bad, then he shouldn’t have been taking the risk of making the equipment in the first place.
.
.
I wonder if all the souls in the demons Van just created with his Demon Ruler job just now left Rodcorte’s system. They mentioned at one point that Van was causing problems with his pseudo-reincarnation, so this should be similar on a large scale. I bet we’ll get part of a chapter soon with Rodcorte complaining about it.
.
.
Also, I’m sure Elizabeth will NOT enjoy meeting her younger brother. Being licked by an enormous, mutated dragon doesn’t sound fun.
Lord Rin
So that baldie can only make cheap and crappy knockoffs. No wonder he was allied with the isekai equivalent of China back on Origin. Anyways knowing how much of an egotist he is I wouldn’t be surprised if Rikudou thinks the equipment he’s made are amazing. I mean look how he kept crowing about what a powerful god he was just because he was copying spells that Van can already use when they fought on Origin.
.
Anyways his so-called ‘brilliant plan’ couldn’t even fool Van 5 seconds. Rikudou probably thought that Duke Hadros would go meet Van after the meeting to inform him about what he saw which would buy him time but he never expected Van would actually sneak in Demon King Familiars into the meeting itself and evaluate the equipment from close range. Not only did Van figure out that this was all supposed to be a misdirection to try to get Van to waste time looking for a non-existent factory making the equipment but Van also dissed the equipment as crap.
.
So Van has gotten two new jobs: Demon Ruler and Spirit Therapist. Demon Ruler can let Van create demons and now one of his Inner Worlds is full of demons he unintentionally created from some of the countless spirits following him around in a pseudo-reincarnation. Those demons also worship him as their king so Van really is a Demon King. Anyways Demon Ruler insta-maxed out and he took the Spirit Therapist job afterwards. Maybe it can help with treating Amelia and the other patients.
Phantom Knight
……I just realize this, but is the [God of Origin] skill somehow affecting the [Strengthen Attribute Values: Worshipped] skill? Van-sama did become a god (while also staying as a demigod) after all.
.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the worship of the demons was also affecting the latter skill somewhat. Heck, they are probably the reason for why the [Augmented Attribute Values: Reigning] skill emerged.
.
……With all that being the case, I am now interested in seeing what the [Shadow Group Binding Technique] will evolve into and what god-related job options Van-sama will unlock next time……If we are lucky, he might even job option that allows him to create half-demons and that evolves his tamer skills into divinity related skill.
RanmaChaos
Thanks for chapter 338,
And a special thanks to another $150 donator! You guys are the best! (^^)b
MihaelZ64
I can’t wait for rikudo to think his efforts are enough only for van to show him up, crush him and absorb his illused limitless growth ability. You can be sure rodidiot will cry in agony when this happens xD
Doc
Going to be honest, I did not expect Duke Jahan to basically go full Duke Alcrem in his support of Van or that Van would apparently tell Jahan everything (as the Duke is apparently completely aware of the Demon King stuff and Van’s far greater influence than just the son of an Honorary Countess in the Alcrem Dutchy).
I thought after Jahan told Van that he’s going to continue to worship Alda (who Van is very much direct enemies with) that their relationship would have ended with that. Basically non-interference between them.
WholesomeAF
Well, personally therapy works wonders
bk3k
He’s doing that, but it is a public front, for now.
bookworm12
I agree. I guess Duke Jahan decided to continue to publicly worship Alda while actually switching to the side that did not require his worship in order for him to be considered human. He probably won’t make any policy changes for a while though, until the public front is no longer necessary.
Ltshrek
So rikudou’s role here is just a gold goblin/mimic that will drop lots of good drops when you killed him
Phantom Knight
Thanks for the chapter!!! I guess Van already agreed to marry his Elizabeth’s mother despite her chagrin. Lol.
.
As for the [Demon Ruler] job, I am honestly shocked, since i only expected it to be a king-type job (that’s similar to the [Demon King] job). Who would have guessed that this new job was a fusion of a craftsman job and a parasitic tamer job?
.
Heck, his [Qiploth] job even synetgized with [Demon Ruler] and guider jobs for such an extreme effect. This is honestly a happy yet surprising development. 😆
Phantom Knight
P.S. In my personal opinion, I feel like the [Qiploth] probably requires the blessing of Lucifer or Christian demons as its first acquisition conditions. The other conditions are probably right, though.
.
At the very least, you probably need “Binding Techniques” skills and maybe some corruption-related skills beforehand. I am not too sure about the dimensional travel requirement.
Chiu ChunLing
It’s worth noting that Qiploth is a reference to Kabbalah (rather than conventional Judeo-Christianity), like several other Jobs that reference gnostic traditions, and that these references generally paint Van as “evil” and Alda as “good”. But this moral inversion is apparently conscious of the tendency of gnostic traditions to invert conventional theological morality.
That is to say, Qiploth would actually require the blessing of what ordinary Judeo-Christianity would regard as angels, which Kabbalah considers to be secretly demons instead.
Entropy
Thanks for the chapter. So Van can now create demons. I wonder if he can add already existing demons to his world. What is truly scary is that the demons he created are all human level intelligent. If I recall correctly only a few demons were that smart that were created by the first demon king. I am curious about what jobs remain for Van as well as will he gain any demon related jobs in the future. I remember he gained quite a few golem related jobs after unlocking the golem creation job. Maybe some of the proper name jobs relate to the demon creation abilities. So the demon king parts are little more than trash weapons that goblins would create found on the ground than actually created weapons and shields crafted. I guess the prime minister was being generous. I do think his plan to have Van chase after some crafter was dumb. Why waste time looking for an unknown person, when capturing and torturing him will be much faster.
bookworm12
Of course he can add existing demons to his inner worlds. He can add anything to his inner worlds, including people from other worlds. The demons that have been introduced so far have been smart but a bit crazy/with different values since they keep reincarnating with their consciousnesses intact when killed. They didn’t care if they were killed as long as they had fun in the process, but they feared Van and followed him since he could break their souls.
jmoreno126
Wait. Is Tiamat the official first wife? She is so sneaky.
Tiamat: Van give me ypur blood. We have a son now. You are my husband.
Van: ……….ok
ObserverBias
Officially, she’s the first to have a child with him, and is yet still the only one. However, pending what-if-any actual marriage ceremony is involved, yesn’t.
bookworm12
I believe she said she didn’t care about being an official wife, and Van wasn’t intending on putting Bakunawa in the official line of succession. But yeah, she tried to trick him into having another child. But Van promised Knochen the next bone from the Dragon King, so he won’t be fooled twice.
Larathia
Huh. So Van is now reincarnating souls as Demons. Lots and lots of Demons. Without even consciously deciding to do so. If they stay in his “Inner World”, I guess that counts as a kind of afterlife?
Mostly I’m struck by how much he seems to be sliding into Demon King Guduranis’ role, even if his mental state and general intentions are very different from Guduranis. A nation of undead and demons, powerful enough to wipe the floor with every other nation, creating dungeons…Van’s managed to spin things into a net positive so far (which is to say, the other races just become part of a new paradigm rather than being wiped out) but this new development feels harder to ‘spin’ that way.
I guess it’ll depend on what these new Inner World Demons actually look/act like. I mean, it’s Van. We could be talking ‘basically a sexy human with horns and a tail’. Or we could be talking ‘let’s paint Ahnold red with cloven hooves and a bad temper’. Or both.
Irazori
I’m both surprised but not surprised as usual with that wannabe mastermind/knockoff death mage. Even with his so-called godhood, he can’t craft anything worth a damn like a genuine craftsman. Perhaps that’s because Van and the others are mortals that take advantage of the system to properly fine-tune the equipment they make. While baldie-dou hasn’t had enough time to properly adjust to Lambda’s laws of physics, and even with his cheats he can’t properly craft items that are different from the ones he knows and because he isn’t apart of the system.
.
Van becoming even more Op is definitely needed to throughly break that copycat hack of a death mage. Though I’m surprised that the “Demon Ruler” job ended up maxing out. Other works have often mentioned that demons are beings made up of magic elements and can be considered similar to golems because they don’t need sustenance, which was kinda also mentioned when Van made that demon-only dungeon a while back. Perhaps Van’s guidance accidentally got some of the mostly blank and degraded spirits around him to reincarnate into demons.
Phantom Knight
I also agree that the lack of craftsmanship is a nice constraint on Rikudo. After all, he did come from a modern society that rely more on machines than personal craftsmen, and the [Demon King’s Memories] probably only contains knowledge of applying intimidation and brute force.
.
With such conditions, we can see a clear difference in development between Van and Rikudo (despite the number of cheats given to the latter).
Doc
I don’t think the quality of the demon king fragment equipment was of any concern to Rikudou. The point of giving them to the Prime Minister was not to seriously outfit the kingdom’s military but to give Van misinformation to distract him on a wild goose chase away from Rikudou (looking into the Prime Minister’s domain and not the royal castle). He just needs to buy time until Rikudou feels he’s ready to fight Van.
Lord Rin
Well Rikudou is egotistical and delusional so I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually thinks this equipment he made is amazing high class equipment.
Chiu ChunLing
He’s not entirely wrong…except when comparing it to Van’s standards. Which are, of course, the only standards he should have considered if he’s trying to fool Van.
Baru-san
thanks for the chapter! (^_^)
ExplodingPenguinDood
Ara Ara Van reporting to the “1st wife” and child is adorable. Poor Elizabeth, I wonder if she’ll be forced to call Van dad or some variation in the future. I’m looking forward to her great shame and our great amusement 🤣
CaTastrophy427
Or, hear me out: Oyakodon.
Soulzer1
You’re a sick “man of culture” dude. You have my respect, and my disgust for that. Also sadly, in that world, you may be right.
Lord Rin
Well I mean there’s already Zadiris and Basdia. Plus we just learned a few chapters back that Basdia’s daughter Jadal also wants to marry Van. I expect the same thing will happen with Bilde and her daughter Varbie too.
Chiu ChunLing
We already did that…and added in a third generation for good measure.
no1
Okay so not that surprising that Rikudou might be a fast learner but his skills are still amateurish compared to Vandalieu. And Vandalieu is spending time with his dragon kid, aw how sweet. A little scary how the dragon was thinking about tasting/eating Elizabeth, good to see that resolve itself peacefully. Also two new jobs for Vandalieu is great. Demon Rule maxed out already, that’s great, but his new skills are OP along with a whole inner world of Demons within him. I guess to not be a totally unbelievable skill, the author decided that Vandal can’t generate insanely powerful demons. And to top it off, they found another bone on the Demon King’s continent and Bakunawa almost got a younger sibling, aw too bad. Thanks for the chapter Yoshi and looking forward to the next one.
Irazori
The “tasting” part honestly makes me think of how dogs and cats like to sometimes lick to show affection. So perhaps Bukanawa is doing something similar since he’s pretty friendly.
Seinvolf
Thank u always for ur great work…
^^…