The Death Mage Who Doesn’t Want a Fourth Time

Vandalieu and his companions had built their walls, solidified their defenses and prepared their weapons. Undead and Golems had been successfully placed for surveillance purposes at locations where Vampires and humans were likely to cross the Boundary Mountain Range.

Vandalieu had personally tried stepping into the entrances of the route that had been used by Eleanora’s party and the tunnel that led to the Hartner duchy after the surveillance Golems had been placed at these locations.

There had been no particular problems on the route that Eleanora’s party had used. But things had been strange at the tunnel.

From the outside, the tunnel looked as if it had simply caved in, but Vandalieu had used【Golem Transmutation】to turn the rubble into Golems and【Spirit Form Transformation】to go inside and investigate. He had found that the inside of the tunnel had been destroyed too thoroughly.

According to what he had heard from Nuaza and the other Undead Titans, two hundred years ago, the First Princess Levia and the other Undead Titans used this tunnel to escape and then used some hidden mechanisms to seal the tunnel. But the inside of the tunnel was had been like an impossible puzzle.

There hadn’t been a single large rock among the rubble, only large amounts of soft dirt and sand. When he had tried to remove the rubble to rebuild the tunnel, more and more dirt and sand kept falling from above. That was the state the tunnel had been in.

Vandalieu hadn’t investigated through the entire tunnel to the end but the first few hundred meters were all in this state, even though the tunnel was covered by mountains high enough to reach the clouds.

It was as if someone had used sophisticated earth-attribute magic to turn the boulders and hard bedrock above the tunnel into tiny grains of sand in order to make it impossible to rebuild the tunnel.

With this being the case, the tunnel would remain sealed forever if Vandalieu’s【Golem Transmutation】skill didn’t exist; it would have been completely impossible for the Mirg shield-nation army of two hundred years ago to reconstruct the tunnel.

Nobody knew how Princess Levia had collapsed the tunnel. It was possible that the mechanism or magic used to collapse it, which only Talosheim’s royal family knew about, was just that incredible. However… Vandalieu found this suspicious.

He wondered whether the Vampires had something to do with this.

If he thought about it, the commercial trade between Talosheim and the Hartner duchy would have been nothing but an eyesore for the Pure-breed Vampires who worshipped the evil god and feared the Pure-breed Vampires who worshipped Vida that lived in the southern regions of the Bahn Gaia continent beyond the Boundary Mountain Range.

If trading had become very prosperous in Talosheim’s geographical location, the people there would have eventually started exploring the southern regions of the continent. This could have caused the Vampires worshipping Vida to possibly make a move.

That might have been why they had chosen to mobilize the Amid Empire and the Mirg shield-nation without making any movements themselves. They had probably wanted to reduce the strength of the Empire and the Mirg shield-nation around then anyway, and with the Vampires’ influence extending into the Empire, starting a war would have been a simple matter.

Eleanora knew nothing about this. She seemed to have been considered an individual with great promise, but she hadn’t been in an important position in the community as a whole, and not even a decade had passed since she had even become a Vampire.

Since the Vampires in the same faction that worshipped the evil god didn’t seem to be on good terms with each other, it was only natural that she didn’t know.

Vandalieu stopped his speculations here. No matter how much he investigated, the truth wouldn’t be clear unless he were to talk to some person or spirit who knew about the events of two hundred years ago. For now, he just needed to increase his intent to kill the Vampires who worshipped the evil god.

And the remaining tunnel in the mountain range leading to the Mirg shield-nation was found.

It had been covered by a large boulder, however. As Vandalieu had suspected, a tunnel had been built a hundred thousand years ago on this side of the mountain range as well.

Borkus’s party had slaughtered Earth Dragons, Rock Dragons and scattered a Goblin King’s large pack to find it.

The Dragon materials that they had brought back as souvenirs were currently in Tarea’s hands, being processed to create equipment.

With this, Vandalieu’s surveillance network was complete.

And though they didn’t possess enough fighting strength to stand against the Pure-breed Vampires, everyone was improving both individually and as a whole.

His powerful companions like Borkus, Eleanora and Vigaro had leveled up in the past few months, but their Ranks hadn’t increased.

However, prior to this, Vigaro had undergone a Job-change from Warrior to【Axeman】, a Job specialized in using axe techniques. He had apparently even acquired the【Deforestation】skill as well. He had acquired it during the search for the tunnel by cutting down trees that were in the way with his axe.

Nuaza had become a Rank 5 Lich.

「I have finally lost the “Lesser” from my race title. I will no longer allow Borkus-dono to call me a weak youngster!」he said, smiling with his face that was only made of skin and bones.

Braga had become a Rank 4 Black Goblin Assassin, while the other Black Goblins had become Black Goblin Scouts. They were quite the team of scouts.

It seemed that Braga was walking along the path of a ninja that he had heard about from Vandalieu.

Zemedo and Memediga had increased their Ranks as well, becoming an Anubis Rider and an Anubis Monk respectively. Zemedo had successfully tamed a monster he had captured in a Dungeon and become able to fight while using it as a mount. Memediga had apparently increased in Rank while studying magic and martial skills simultaneously, shortly after she began going on dates with Berg in the Church of Vida.

Was this the goddess’s blessing?

The Orcus Gorba hadn’t increased his Rank yet, but his body had grown enough for him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the three-meter-tall Borkus and he had grown even stronger and sturdier.

Most importantly, he had found a Giga in a forest and captured it alive. Because of this, Talosheim now had a supply of fresh eggs.

Everyone was becoming stronger by increasing their Ranks, leveling up and improving their skills.

With this, unlike when they had been forced to escape the Devil’s Nest forest, they were capable of fighting.

Vandalieu wanted more anti-Vampire weapons prepared if possible, but he lacked time and, more importantly, skills and technology for those.

However, fortunately, it seemed that Pure-breed Vampires and Noble-born Vampires who had lived a long time had an unusually slow perception of time, so when they made a move, they would use a plan that would take years, or several months at least to carry out.

Vampires had long lifespans and surrounded themselves with the company of other Vampires, so their sense of time was very different from that of humans.

They often referred to events over ten years ago as,「a little while ago.」

It was still unlikely that Vandalieu would be left alone for ten years, but Eleanora estimated that they would take two to five years to make their next move as long as there were no special reasons to act faster.

And so Vandalieu decided that he should start taking action to achieve his own goals.

He would acquire Vida’s legacy, the resurrection device beneath Talosheim’s royal castle, and resurrect Darcia.

「I have to become stronger for that as well.」(Vandalieu)

In order to do that, the half-destroyed Dragon Golem that still protected it needed to be defeated. But if that was all, Vandalieu wouldn’t need to become stronger.

He would simply need to stand at the back and support Borkus, Eleanora, Vigaro, Zadiris and the others. Darcia’s resurrection was at stake, but there was no need for him to be positioned at the front.

However, only Vandalieu was capable of melting the ice that sealed the chamber guarded by the Dragon Golem, and when he had gone to melt it, he had felt a powerful response from his constantly-active【Danger Sense: Death.】

That was proof that the Dragon Golem had noticed Vandalieu and was preparing to attack him the moment he tried to enter the chamber. In other words, even if he was planning to leave all of the fighting to Borkus and the others, there was a high chance that he would receive some kind of attack as soon as he opened the chamber and be killed immediately.

Of course, Vandalieu had become much stronger than he was the first time he had seen the Dragon Golem through the wall of ice. He had gone through a Job-change and leveled up. His Attribute Values and his skills had increased.

The【Soul Break】that he had acquired after destroying Sercrent’s soul was a particularly powerful skill.

Upon careful inspection, it had turned out to be a skill that dealt damage to Mana equal to the amount of damage to Vitality that Vandalieu inflicted.

If he dealt damage to Vampires with this, their Mana would stay damaged even if their Vitality recovered immediately, so this skill would be effective to use in battles against Vampires. He would even be able to drain the Dragon Golem of the Mana it used as its power source… if he could damage it.

But even so, he still felt a powerful reaction from【Danger Sense: Death.】That was why he needed to become stronger.

That was why he decided to resume his Dungeon-clearing that he had put on hold.

『The Dungeon we’re going into is a C-class Dungeon. It’ll be on another level from the D-class Dungeons you’ve already been in, kid. Don’t let your guard down.』(Borkus)

Borkus was doing his best to make a strict face, but the remaining half of his lips were raised in a smirk. Vandalieu didn’t comment on this.

「Yes. I’m relying on you to guide me through.」(Vandalieu)

The Dungeon they would be clearing was Borkus’s Sub-Dragon Savannah*. It was a Dungeon discovered by Borkus’s ancestors, countless generations ago.

TLN*: I initially mistranslated this as Borkus’s Evil Dragon Savannah due to the kanji for “sub-” and “evil” being similar (亜 and 悪). Fixed now in the previous chapter where this Dungeon was mentioned.

Unlike the D-class Garan’s Valley and Doran’s Aquatic Cavern, nobody usually entered this Dungeon other than adventurers. No matter how strong Titans were, this Dungeon was too dangerous for anyone other than a genuine adventurer to venture into.

「That’s right, this place is really harsh. There are a lot of floors and the monsters are strong. There aren’t many monsters that use attacks that inflict status effects or problematic traps, but the monsters are strong.」(Vigaro)

「You have said the same thing twice. Are you drunk?」(Zadiris)

『But the monsters really are strong. Even though our Ranks increased, it’s tough for us from the third floor onwards if Vigaro-san isn’t with us.』(Saria)

『Jyuuh. From the eleventh floor onwards, it was difficult battle after difficult battle.』(Bone Man)

The members of this exploration party were the Rank 6 members Vigaro and Zadiris, as well as Rita, Saria, Bone Man and Bone Bird who had become Rank 5. Other than the inclusion of Borkus, their guide, they had a suitable amount of fighting strength for clearing this Dungeon.

As its name suggested, Borkus’s Sub-Dragon Savannah was a Dungeon with many savannahs in its terrain.

Some floors had forests, rivers and lakes, but they were mostly savannahs. The scenery was –

「Just like in a movie.」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu whispered these words as he released a【Mana Bullet.】

Dinosaurs roamed across the ground that was covered in thick, verdant grass that looked like a green carpet. It was as if Vandalieu had traveled back in time to the Cretaceous Period.

It was a truly moving sight.

Even as he noticed the groups of dinosaurs coming to attack, Vandalieu’s sense of wonder didn’t disappear.

『O~oi, if you don’t hurry and crush that Raptor… Oh, you’ve already done it.』(Borkus)

As Borkus relaxed at the back and watched, one of the Raptors that had slipped through the frontline tried to attack Vandalieu, only to be turned into mincemeat by a【Mana Bullet.】

Normal【Mana Bullets】weren’t this powerful; they were slower than arrows and attacks of other attributes of magic, difficult to fire in a controlled trajectory and easy to predict.

It was a spell full of flaws, but Vandalieu had poured ten thousand Mana into a single bullet to release a projectile larger than himself that should have been called【Super Mana Cannon.】Its size made it hard to avoid and lately he had been twisting the shape of the Mana to alter the projectile’s trajectory.

Because of this, it was even able to bring down a fast-moving Raptor.

『I suppose the others won’t have any problems on the first floor since they’ve been in here before.』(Borkus)

Though Vigaro, Zadiris, Bone Man and the others were still inexperienced in his eyes, they were slaughtering the Raptors with ease.

The boss of this group of Raptors was a Rank 4 Huge Raptor that was larger and more intelligent than the rest, but they were fighting it safely.

If there had been a few less Raptors, Vandalieu would likely not have had to do anything.

『Well, this is where it starts.』(Borkus)

The monsters appearing in the earlier floors of Borkus’s Sub-Dragon Savannah were mostly similar to the dinosaurs that Vandalieu knew or large reptile-type monsters such as crocodiles and turtles.

It seemed that these monsters that had scales like Dragons and yet weren’t Dragons had been named「Sub-Dragons」by the people of Talosheim. Incidentally, Wyverns and similar monsters were apparently also categorized as Sub-Dragons.

Indeed, it wouldn’t be strange to think of them as being related to pterosaurs.

TLN: The Japanese word for dinosaur is 恐竜/kyouryuu, which literally means “fearsome dragon”. “Sub-Dragon” is 亜竜/aryuu, so it’s actually fairly similar to the actual word for dinosaur.

As they descended from the first floor to the second and then from the second to the third, the battles with the monsters naturally became harsher.

From the fifth floor onwards, there were no Rank 3 monsters appearing at all and there were Rank 5 monsters among the monsters that did appear.

「GYAOOOHN!」

「Oh, a tyrannosaurus rex.」(Vandalieu)

An enormous, triangular silhouette, fangs sharp and long enough to be used as tips of spears, powerful rear legs and short front legs.

Probably the most well-known carnivorous dinosaur on Earth, the tyrannosaurus rex… This was an Armored Tyrannosaurus, a monster with a higher Rank. It was a dinosaur covered in hard scales and a carapace like an ankylosaur, but it was apparently a Rank 5 monster in Lambda.

Vandalieu found it strange to think that this enormous carnivore was weaker than Bugogan and only as powerful as a Wyvern, but it turned out that this wasn’t so strange after all.

『Jyuuh! You will become provisions for my lord!【Flowing Water!】【Slicing Moon!】』(Bone Man)

Bone Man avoided the Armored Tyrannosaurus’s biting attack with flowing movements and half-severed its neck with a slash that drew a circular path in the air.

After successfully increasing his Rank when Vandalieu had added more spirits to his body, he had trained even further and become a Rank 5 Skeleton Baron. His【Swordsmanship】skill was level 5, while his other skills such as【Archery】and【Shield Technique】had reached level 4.

The Armored Tyrannosaurus was supposed to be of the same Rank as him, but it was only capable of simple movements, perhaps due to its overly-active instinct to attack. Bone Man performed complicated, mysterious movements that seemed to ignore the normal rules of motion as if they came naturally to him. This was the difference between them.

『My lord, what shall we do with this corpse?』(Bone Man)

「I already have a Tyrannosaurus Zombie, so I suppose we’ll use it for materials and food. Which parts of the tyrannosaurus monsters were tasty, again?」(Vandalieu)

『I believe it was the area around their legs.』(Bone Man)

They took the Armored Tyrannosaurus’s Magic Stone, stripped it of its scales and carapace and then took a break as they ate the meat of its legs.

The mid-boss on the tenth floor was a herbivorous dinosaur.

But it wasn’t the enormous, long-necked brontosaurus that Vandalieu had been hoping to see. It was a ferocious triceratops that even a wild boar would flee from.

「BOOOOH!」

Flashes of lightning appeared around the horn on the tip of the triceratops’s nose and the pair of horns on its forehead as it let out a roar that sounded somewhat similar to that of a cow and prepared to charge.

「… Hmm, as to be expected from a creature of another world.」(Vandalieu)

This triceratops had undergone a fantasy-like evolution.

『It is a Tri-Horn that has increased its Rank and contains wind-attribute Mana in its horns! Leave this to us!』(Saria)

『We have defeated it before!』(Rita)

Saria and Rita, the Living Armor sisters, stepped forward. They looked significantly different from how they had looked before.

They had increased their Ranks to become a Rank 5 Magic High-Leg Armor and Magic Bikini Armor, and finally acquired the【Spirit Form】skill.

As a result, they had visible bodies instead of just being suits of armor… Bodies that were like clouds of white mist with no outline that were just barely human-shaped.

Their【Spirit Form】was vague and seemed as if it would be blown away by a strong wind, but their other skills had increased as well. Though they were Rank 5, the two sisters could hold their own against Rank 6 enemies.

The promising-looking pair charged directly at the Tri-Horn from the front –

『KYAAAAAAH!』(Saria/Rita)

As they leapt up, their gauntlets that were still clutching their weapons, their greaves and their iron boots separated and flew into the air.

「Huh?」(Vandalieu)

「Th-they died?! Have they died?!」(Vigaro)

『Geh?! GEEEEEH!?』(Bone Bird)

『Hey, hey, isn’t this looking bad?』(Borkus)

Vandalieu was surprised. The two men and Bone Bird began to panic. However, Zadiris didn’t panic or make any noise, instead letting out an exasperated sigh.

「Another of their ill-humored jokes again.」(Zadiris)

As she whispered this, Rita and Saria’s gauntlets and iron boots and turned in the air and they gripped their weapons, the halberd and the glaive, once more.

「BOOOOOH?!」

As the Tri-Horn who believed it had defeated them let out a roar of victory, they thrust their weapons into its neck, back and belly and cut it to pieces.

And then the Tri-Horn stopped breathing and the pieces of armor that had separated reunited once more, restoring Saria and Rita to normal.

『We’re done here. This method is effective against the Tri-Horn.』(Saria)

『I suppose it thinks that it has defeated us once we separate our parts. Its movements stop and it’s full of openings, so it’s a piece of cake~ ☆』(Rita)

『Ah, I suppose you’re getting thirsty now. Here. It’s freshly-squeezed, Bocchan.』(Saria)

Vandalieu took the wooden cup full of fresh Tri-Horn blood from the two sisters who showed no signs of shame.

「I understand why you did it, but wasn’t the screaming unnecessary?」(Vandalieu)

『Ah, that’s… The electricity of the horns shocked me more than I expected, so I couldn’t help it.』(Saria)

『Nee-san, you’re weak to electric shocks, aren’t you?』(Rita)

「Rita, I believe I heard you screaming as well.」(Zadiris)

『Th-that was… I was just feeling a little playful.』(Rita)

「That kind of playfulness is unnecessary! And more importantly, tighten your spirit form! You look like a log.」(Zadiris)

『You’re mistaken! This isn’t because I had a child’s body or that I had excess flesh when I was still alive, but because I’m still experienced –』(Rita)

「Don’t play around in battle when you’re still inexperienced! You scared the hell out of me!」(Vigaro)

『Yeah, you’ve got some bad hobbies, Jou-chan.』(Borkus)

Vandalieu was watching Rita being scolded by the senior members; it seemed that he had decided not to say anything to her himself.

「But Saria, you should be careful as well, okay? Even if you’re going to do something like that, do it better next time. If you don’t, I’ll let my enemies cut my flesh and organs in battle again.」(Vandalieu)

It’s unfair that I get scolded for being reckless while others can get away with it. It should be fine to say at least this much.

『P-please don’t! Really, please don’t! I’ll think of a better way to do it!』(Saria)

With her face turning pale… or not, Saria hastily made this promise. Things would probably be fine from now on.

「Though this is another topic, how did you do that thing where you separated into pieces while attacking?」(Vandalieu)

Though Saria and Rita’s pieces of armor were separate at first glance, they had generally moved together as if worn by an invisible person up until now.

However, they had acquired the【Spirit Form】skill, though it was still level 1, which had granted them misty bodies. Yet they had separated the pieces of their armor in battle. Shouldn’t it have been the other way around?

『That’s because we have acquired the【Long-distance Control】skill.』(Saria)

「Long-distance control?」(Vandalieu)

『Yes. It is a skill that lets us move parts of our bodies such as our gauntlets and boots separately from our main bodies.』(Saria)

Apparently, Saria and Rita had wondered whether something like that would be possible and acquired the skill by practicing together.

『That seems like quite a useful skill. I would certainly like to acquire this skill myself, jyuuh.』(Bone Man)

『Geeeh.』(Bone Bird)

Bone Man and Bone Bird spoke up after hearing this story.

Since Bone Man had flesh and cartilage made of spirit form and Bone Bird was made entirely of bones other than its wings, it was likely possible for them to acquire the【Long-range Control】skill with practice. If they controlled their spirit form, they would simply be separating their bones without any risk.

It was likely that the【Long-range Control】skill was a special skill possessed by Undead such as Living Armors, Skeletons and Zombies to begin with.

Vandalieu hadn’t seen it in this world yet, but scenes where a Zombie or Skeleton’s severed limbs would move and attack on their own had been almost obligatory to include in horror works on Earth.

There were things like severed lizard tails that regrew, but they didn’t move on their own so that was probably different.

「I’d like to acquire that skill, too.」(Vandalieu)

『『Eh?』』

Though the skill was a specialized skill for Undead, Vandalieu didn’t see this as a reason that he couldn’t acquire it himself. But as he said this, the atmosphere around everyone froze.

『U-umm, I don’t know about Bocchan separating himself into pieces…』(Saria)

『If you do not put yourself back together afterwards, would you not be forced to become an Undead yourself, my lord?』(Bone Man)

「No, I’m not planning to cut my own arms and legs off to practice.」(Vandalieu)

It would indeed be problematic if he didn’t put himself back together afterwards. He thought that it might be possible if he used【Spirit Form Transformation】beforehand, but if not, he might cause irreversible damage to himself.

He had put himself back together after allowing Bugogan to cut his torso, but that was because he had repaired the damage immediately after being cut. There was no telling what could happen if he delayed the repairing process to practice for acquiring the skill.

「For now, let’s try doing it with my hair.」(Vandalieu)

Zadiris and Basdia had called Vandalieu’s long hair「truly manly hair.」It seemed that he had wanted it to be like the lion’s manes of the Ghoul men.

Darcia had thought of it as being cute, so Vandalieu was growing it out, thinking that it was fine as it was. It would likely reach waist-length soon. He did plan to cut it before it reached his ankles, however.

『Well, if it’s your hair, then…』(Saria)

『My lord, if it does not work well with your hair please do not attempt to make changes to your fingers or anything of the sort.』(Bone Man)

It seemed that Vandalieu had made them worry, but he had no intentions of giving up on the acquisition of the【Long-range Control】skill that seemed as if it would have a variety of applications.

Even if he did acquire it, he had no plans to cut of his arms and send them flying to perform rocket-punches or anything like that, however.

Things got even harsher from the eleventh floor onwards.

The monsters appearing were all Rank 5, and from time to time a Rank 6 monster would appear on its own.

『But it’s from the eleventh floor onwards that this Dungeon becomes a good hunting ground. There are a lot of usable materials other than those that come from monsters.』(Borkus)

The fresh leaves of an enormous fern the size or a large tree could be crushed to make medicine, and if dried and boiled, they made a bitter but healthy tea.

Apparently, adventurers in the past had ventured into this Dungeon with the aim of reaching the floors containing plateaus in which amber could be found, and cliffs whose rocks would produce whetstones that made it more difficult for weapons to rust.

And there were many Experience Points to be gained here.

「The dinosaurs here are on the verge of death, so please finish them off.」(Vandalieu)

『As you will!』(Bone Man)

『Nee-san, an octopus-like one went that way!』(Rita)

『Bocchan! What is this flying monster that seems to be related to snails and octopuses?!』(Saria)

「I think it’s an ammonite, though the ones I know didn’t fly in the air.」(Vandalieu)

『A knight of the ammo race! In that case, I shall be its opponent!』(Bone Man)

「No, it’s not really a knight…」(Vandalieu)

Bone Man stepped forward to challenge the flying ammonite with a shell as large as a bear to an honorable one-on-one duel.

Including this ammonite, all of the monsters appearing here were individually of the same or higher Rank as Bone Man. Of course, by defeating them, he could gain large amounts of Experience Points.

「UOOOOOH!【Iron Slash!】」(Vigaro)

Facing a hard-headed herbivorous dinosaur’s headbutt attack, Vigaro used his newly-learned Axe Technique martial skill.

With a loud smashing sound, it split the dinosaur’s oval-shaped, bony head in two, continuing down to its chest.

Now that Vigaro had become a Ghoul Berserker in the battle in the Devil’s Nest forest and acquired a Job in Talosheim, his strength was equivalent to that of a B-class adventurer.

As he had acquired the【Axeman】Job that provided bonuses to the【Axe Technique】and【Deforestation】skills, he would likely continue to grow even stronger.

「Uoh! I’ve even split the Magic Stone in half!」(Vigaro)

「What are you doing?」(Zadiris)

Vigaro felt the sensation of cutting through the Magic Stone among the flesh and blood and raised his voice. Zadiris sighed as she fired a spell at another dinosaur.

Zadiris had reached level 100 long ago but had lacked the skills to increase her Rank. Due to the training that she had done after coming to Talosheim, she was now a Rank 6 Ghoul High Mage.

Her appearance hadn’t changed significantly, but a red jewel had appeared on her forehead like a third eye. It was apparently some kind of organ that assisted her in the use of magic.

Zadiris’s light-attribute attack spells were fearsome, cutting the ankylosaur-like dinosaurs like hot knives through butter.

「Hmm, the【Chant Revocation】skill is working well… Boy, can you give me a little of your Mana?」(Zadiris)

「Yes, yes.」(Vandalieu)

Her Mana pool had increased as well, but it was certainly still nowhere near Vandalieu’s. It was only natural for her to run out of Mana if she used it carelessly.

The most valuable materials that could be harvested in Borkus’s Sub-Dragon Savannah, other than the materials obtained from the Dungeon’s Boss, were the honey and beeswax of the Cemetery Bees.

They were Rank 5 bee-shaped monsters, around thirty centimeters in length. Each of them weren’t individually threatening, but they were fearsome in that the whole swarm attacked together like a single unit.

Their large jaws were capable of shredding plate armor like paper, and their sharp stingers couldn’t be blocked by the average Shield-bearer. And the most vicious weapon they had was their deadly venom.

The potent neurotoxin couldn’t be resisted by average resistance skills and was capable of causing death by shock in minutes.

It was said that countless corpses of adventurers desiring the exquisite honey and the beeswax that could be turned into the most extravagant candles and soap could be seen surrounding the nests of these monsters.

So their nests were just like cemeteries.

「That’s what I heard, but could it be that they’re surprisingly friendly to people?」(Vandalieu)

『There’s no way… Kid, could it be that those bees are Undead?』(Borkus)

「I think they’re healthy and very much alive.」(Vandalieu)

Borkus was astonished by the sight of Vandalieu being swarmed by so many bees that he appeared to be made of them.

『You wanted sweet things, so when you asked me to find some for you, this is what I thought of. The Cemetery Bees are the rarest monsters in this Dungeon.』(Borkus)

「… Considering that, there are a lot of them, aren’t there?」(Vandalieu)

The Cemetery bees buzzed around Vandalieu, licking him with their tongues rather than biting him with their jaws or stabbing him with their stingers.

Vandalieu didn’t get the sense that they were surrounding him to increase his body temperature and overheat him to death, so it seemed that they were simply attached to him.

『Amazing, Bocchan, even the bees are madly in love with you.』(Saria)

『Jyuuh, is this really alright, my lord?』(Bone Man)

「… Probably?」(Vandalieu)

If Vandalieu had been someone who hated insects, he would probably have fainted, but he didn’t dislike them that much. As a child, he had admired rhinoceros beetles and stag beetles.

As he reminisced about this, a conspicuously large Cemetery Bee, leading countless other bees, flew towards him.

It made a creaking sound with its jaws as it landed on Vandalieu’s head.

「Boy, is that not what is known as a queen bee?」(Zadiris)

「It looks like it.」(Vandalieu)

「And what is it doing?」(Zadiris)

「Probably being tamed?」(Vandalieu)

「… Boy, is it possible that you can charm not only Undead, but monsters with things like death and cemetery in their names?」(Zadiris)

『That’s pretty amazing; I’ve heard that insectoid monsters have powerful instincts that makes it impossible for anyone to tame them.』(Borkus)

「Yeah, that’s amazing, Vandalieu. This could be the first time anyone in the world has done this.」(Vigaro)

「I’m guessing you’re praising me, but I can’t hear you over the sound of their wings.」(Vandalieu)

It seemed that【Death-Attribute Charm】also worked on a certain kind of insects. Or perhaps he had used Undead insects so much that even living insects had started to become attached to him?