Chapter 16: Skills make one the Ghoul King
「So that's why I'm going to be participating in a battle with my life on the line. It's nothing out of the ordinary, so don't worry.」
『Vandalieu, I don't think there's a single parent who wouldn't worry after hearing such words from their child.』
「… So you don't want me to fight?」
『Hmm, it's true that you're always risking your life, and if you try hard, you won't die, Vandalieu… But you have to make sure you cooperate with everyone else properly, okay?』
「I know, Mom.」
The spirit of the Kobold Shaman that had been split in half vertically by Bugogan's magic sword spent seven days traveling to this Ghoul village. It delivered precious information about the Noble Orc who had established a large village and was now attacking other Ghoul villages and kidnapping adventurers while amassing military force.
Vandalieu had been worried that the Ghouls wouldn't believe this information, but they didn't doubt him. He was earnestly happy that they trusted him.
「Three hundred Orcs, and a hundred each of Goblins and Kobolds. What will we do? Can we beat them?」
「Hey, does that mean that there are three hundred enemies?」
「That's five hundred; you're an idiot, aren't you? You can't even add numbers?」
「Goblins, Kobolds and Orcs, they're all enemies of Ghouls, aren't they?! Each of us just needs to kill five of them, then we'll win!」
「Hey, are you including us in your numbers? We still have babies in our stomachs, you know?」
『Bilde-san is four months pregnant, so I do believe that strenuous movements such as those of battle would be impossible for her.』
「And their leader is a Noble Orc. No matter how weak he is for a Noble Orc, he'll be stronger than Mother and Vigaro.」
「What?! Basdia, are you saying that Vigaro would lose to him?!」
「Of course! It's obvious that I'd lose!」
「V-Vigaro, I'm sure you'd win.」
「Face the facts, you morons!」
Well, while Vandalieu was feeling happy about being trusted, the Ghouls were seriously discussing what to do about the large village of Orcs. This was only natural; their survival depended on the decisions they made here.
The Ghouls were seated in a circle around a fire in an open space, holding a large emergency meeting to decide the actions that the village would take.
「Boy, could you please confirm the enemy's numbers one more time?」
Since the Ghouls at the meeting weren't settling down, Zadiris asked Vandalieu to repeat the Kobold Shaman's information. Incidentally, the Kobold Shaman informant's spirit had collapsed soon after reporting this information to Vandalieu.
In order to gain revenge over the Noble Orc who had killed it, it had used its experience as a Spiritualist even after its own death to communicate with other spirits and make its week-long journey to this village. Nobody would know whether it was simply very determined for revenge on its killer, or affected by Vandalieu's[Death-Attribute Charm]skill from very far away.
Either way, now that it had delivered the information, it was now floating around Vandalieu, like it was dozing off.
「The enemies are three hundred Orcs, a hundred Goblins, a hundred Kobolds and a few dozen tamed beast-type monsters. There are about six hundred enemies in total. The chief is a Noble Orc and he has three sons. There are also quite a few Orc Generals, Orc Knights and Orc Mages. The Goblins are Soldiers, Chiefs, Knights and Mages. But there are no Generals or Kings. Also, the enemy has attacked other Ghoul villages, captured the females and used them as mothers for their children, and they've recently started attacking parties of adventurers as well.」
The Ghouls grimaced at the news of the enemy's forces, their extreme actions and also the fact that members of their own race had been attacked, even though they belonged to other villages.
Both the normal Orcs and the higher race of Noble Orcs were races that only had males. That was why they used the females of other races to breed. In most cases, they used the females of Goblins and Kobolds, and they also sometimes used female cattle that they stole from villages. However, possibly because they were a race created by the Demon King and his servants to harm humans, they preferred female humans the most.
Though Ghouls were treated as monsters by humans, their females were exactly like human females other than the color of their skin and eyes. Since their roots could be traced back to the goddess Vida, from the monsters' point of view, they were just like humans.
Ghouls found it difficult to get pregnant unless Vandalieu cast his spells on them, and only one in five of their children were born safely. However, for some reason, if the father was an Orc, there were no problems.
… Though that wasn't a good thing at all.
(Is this because Orc breeding is parthenogenesis that looks like normal reproduction? Instead of Orc sperm fertilizing the egg cell, if the Orc sperm simply absorbs and takes over the mother's genes, then that would explain why the offspring never belongs to the mother's race… I suppose? I'm not even sure if genes exist in this world. Well, either way, none of this helps to solve the Ghouls' declining birth rates.)
Vandalieu was contemplating these thoughts, but the Ghouls had calmed down and began to discuss what to do once more after hearing his words.
There were four very different opinions expressed at the meeting.
「Hey, the Orcs are targeting human villages and cities, right? Then they have nothing to do with us, do they? In that case, we just have to sit here and do nothing.」
The opinion that the Ghouls should simply watch what the Orcs decide to do.
They felt sorry for the female Ghouls that had already been captured and the Ghoul villages that would be attacked in the future, but since they couldn't defeat the Orcs in battle, fighting them was too dangerous.
Well, Zadiris's village had no obligation to risk themselves to help the other Ghoul villages. It was cold, but it was meaningless for their village to come to ruin by trying to help others.
However, this would be a poor move. The Noble Orc leading the Orcs had been waiting for Zadiris to die. The reason for this was obvious - he was planning to attack this village once Zadiris died.
Groups of monsters were generally ruled as dictatorships, where the ruler decided everything. Since the ruler of these Orcs had been observing this village, there was no chance that they could avoid his attention.
Conflicts between humans could be resolved through peace treaties, but monsters didn't possess such concepts.
And even if the Noble Orc somehow decided to leave this village alone, what would come next? If the Orcs failed their attack on the humans, adventurers would come to this Devil's Nest in large numbers. They would hunt down the remnants of the Noble Orc's forces to ensure that no large group of Orcs would ever form again.
The nation of Mirg was the country at the front of the Orgaume Kingdom. Its army was likely powerful, and it would surely have many adventurers. The chance that the Noble Orc's plan would fail was close to 100%.
「How about running away while the Orcs are making their noise? … I suppose not.」
There was a Ghoul suggesting this, but he rejected his own idea.
Of course, this was because it was unrealistic for a hundred Ghouls to be able to run away. The forest of this Devil's Nest was quite spacious, but it would be difficult for a hundred Ghouls, including pregnant women, to run away unnoticed by the Orcs.
It was possible to escape to another Devil's Nest or simply outside of this Devil's Nest, but these Ghouls had lived in this Devil's Nest generation after generation and were unfamiliar with the geography outside.
Darcia and Sam were quite knowledgeable about it, but they only knew that escaping to a Devil's Nest on the Mirg-side would take over ten days, and even if they made it there, the chance of being discovered by humans was high.
And nobody knew what was around the mountain range. Just in case, Vandalieu had sent out small Undead such as insects and small birds to the mountain range today, but it would take them over a month to discover anything.
「Then are we going to surrender to the Orcs? Definitely not; we're better off dead than doing something like that.」
As Bilde said, the option of surrendering to the Orcs and falling under their control was out of the question.
The men would be used as slaves and soldiers like the Goblins and Kobolds, used to fight against the humans until they all perished. The women would become mothers for the Orcs.
That would be the worst possible outcome.
「Let's fight. Let's reach out to the other Ghoul villages as well.」
In the end, Basdia's view was the most realistic. They had to reduce the difference in numbers as much as possible, and then attack before they were attacked.
Vandalieu knew that they would be busy for the next little while.
「Well then, before that, there's something I need to say.」
Vigaro, the next chief, spoke in a serious tone, staring at Vandalieu.
「Vandalieu, you should leave this village as soon as possible.」
「No. Anyway, I have a suggestion -」
「Wait, wait! Don't change the subject!」
As Vandalieu immediately rejected Vigaro's request for him to leave the village, Vigaro became flustered for some reason.
「At this rate, you'll end up fighting the Orcs with us, you know?! Are you alright with that?!」
「That's fine with me. Anyway, my suggestion is -」
「That's not fine at all! Don't be so stubborn -」
「I won't leave.」
「Stop interrupting me!」
Vigaro had been doing nothing but interrupting people up until now, and now he was telling Vandalieu not to interrupt him. Vandalieu couldn't understand. Was saying,「That's fine with me」a bad idea? He supposed that it sounded self-important… to be safe, should he have replied,「I do not mind」?
Vandalieu pondered whether it was his choice of words that was the problem, but Vigaro scratched his mane and began shouting.
「This is a fight between us Ghouls and them Orcs! It has nothing to do with you!」
Vandalieu had stayed in this village for a long time, but he was not a Ghoul. And he had said that he would one day leave this village and cross the mountain range to get to the Orbaume Kingdom.
That was why he shouldn't tie his fate to that of the Ghouls. He was only a two-year-old child. He shouldn't get involved in a battle whose outcome was so uncertain.
「It does have something to do with me; you are all my companions and my family. By the way, could you listen to my suggestion now?」
However, this two-year-old boy did things at his own pace.
He said these emotional words in a flat tone with no signs of embarrassment, and then tried to change the subject once more.
「What can you even do in the first place?!」
Resisting the urge to smile after being told that the Ghouls were family to Vandalieu, Vigaro shouted this question at him. Indeed, if one were to divide the people of this world into the strong and the weak, Vandalieu would fall into the weak side.
His Mana pool vastly exceeded what was normal, and as a Dhampir, his physical strength exceeded that of a normal adult at the age of two. On top of that, he was able to use death-attribute magic that nobody in this world knew about.
However, that was all. He had no understanding of martial arts, and his knowledge of group battle tactics and strategy was all self-taught. There was no way that he would be a good tactician.
His vast Mana pool was nothing more than simple Mana. He couldn't use it to directly kill monsters, and no matter how much Mana he had, he would die if his Vitality dropped to 0.
The only ways Vandalieu could use his Mana was through Death-Attribute Magic and No-Attribute Magic. Death-Attribute Magic was limited in its options for direct attacks, and he had only just recently learned No-Attribute Magic and he was still inept with it.
If the enemies were mages, then he could use the[Magic Absorption Barrier]to render them useless, but the enemies were Orcs this time. Few of them were Orc Mages, and as a race, they relied on their physical strength to charge at their enemies with their weapons.
Vandalieu himself had been aware of all of this ever since Darcia had been killed. However, he was also aware that there was any number of things that he was able to do.
「First, me being here would contribute three Rotten Beasts, a Phantom Bird and a Skeleton Soldier as well as Sam, Saria and Rita.」
「Muh?!」
Sam and the others were all Vandalieu's servants. Of course, if Vandalieu were to participate in the battle against the Orcs, they would participate too. Since they were all at least Rank 3, the military strength that they added wasn't small by any means.
「And I think when you reach out to the other Ghoul villages, having me around will be convenient.」
It was already known that Ghouls were affected by the[Death-Attribute Charm]skill, so Vandalieu pointed out that this would be useful. Knowing that he was right, Vigaro could only let out a groan.
「You should leave it at that, Vigaro. Everyone knows that you were thinking of what is best for the boy when you spoke.」
「Yeah. And Van is family to us as well, and the same goes for the others of our race, right?」
「Yeah, yeah! Vigaro, don't push yourself!」
「That's right, you can't say that he has nothing to do with it, even if you don't mean it!」
Vigaro was on his own.
「You… Ah, I don't care anymore! I'm going to make sure you're so heavily involved that nobody will ever say that it has nothing to do you with you again!」
「It seems that the next chief has given his authorization, boy. So what is your suggestion?」
Finally able to talk, Vandalieu gave a sigh of relief and made his suggestion.
「It's nothing special, but I was thinking of distributing the equipment and Magic Items that I'm not planning to use in the near future to everyone.」
But judging from everyone's reactions, it seemed that it was something special.
In this world, Magic Items have grades.
From the bottom, they are lower-class (this is a poor way to say it, so these have also recently started to be called beginner-class*), middle-class, upper-class, special-class, legendary-class and mythical-class.
Lower-class items are things like swords that aren't as susceptible to rust as normal swords, leather armor that doesn't hurt the body if slept in, timers that ring an alarm after an hour, magical stoves similar to the portable gas stoves of Earth, magical street lights and the like; many of them are plain, everyday items that people from Earth wouldn't normally think of as Magic Items.
The real Magic-Item-like items start at the middle class, and many items that adventurers use belong to this class. Upper-class items are significantly more valuable and difficult to obtain, and special-class items are few and far between, treated as national treasures.
Items called Artifacts such as sacred swords that only chosen heroes can wield belong to the legendary-class, while the cheat-like items of myths are in the mythical-class.
The classification of Magic Items is dependent not only on their functions and the strength of the magic they contain, but also the effort and materials needed to create them as well as their rarity. Apparently, magical stoves were once considered middle-class Magic Items before mass-producing them was feasible.
「Oka~ay, line up, line up.」
The Magic Items from the Dungeon that Vandalieu was now distributing among the Ghouls were of lower and middle class.
When Vandalieu had first obtained the Magic Items, he could only tell that they were Magic Items and roughly how much Mana was stored inside them. Even after he learned the No-Attribute Magic[Appraisal]spell, he had no knowledge to make sense of the information, so he had continued hoarding them without knowing what kind of items they were.
However, he thought that the Ghouls needed to be stronger for a difficult mission like invading the large Orc village, so he gave them out.
Of course, for free.
This came at a great cost to Vandalieu, but he had simply been hoarding them with no way to sell them for money anyway, and he had simply received them from the Undead of the Dungeon or found them inside treasure chests, he felt no attachment to them as he hadn't struggled to obtain them. And so he generously gave them away.
「This has a low-level agility enchantment, and this is a low-level stamina recovery accessory. Both are little more than consolation prizes, but they are indeed Magic Items.」
「Then please give those to Guda-san and Gibli-san.」
Vandalieu had Zadiris use[Appraisal], and then distributed the Magic Items one after another. If he was in a large human town, he would be able to sell them at a thousand Amid each, a price not insignificant but not exorbitant either. Even so, they were precious items in this village in the Devil's Nest, so everyone accepted them.
(The happy feeling of giving presents to people is a fresh experience for me.)
On Earth, Vandalieu had no friends or decent family, and in Origin he had been a laboratory animal. Having his first opportunity to give presents to someone in Lambda, Vandalieu felt very happy.
「I'm going to give those Orcs a beating with this!」
「I'll give you a belly full of Orc meat to repay you for this bracelet.」
Incidentally, Orc meat was apparently tasty without any special cooking methods, unlike Goblin and Kobold meat. Its taste was similar to that of wild boar meat, so the Ghouls were looking forward to it.
「Give the special battleaxe that I got from the Skeleton General to Vigaro. And the kite shield is for Basdia.」
Vandalieu handed over the items that were the most valuable among the items that he had obtained in the Dungeon other than the suits of armor that had become Saria and Rita's bodies and the weapons that they used.
Vigaro thanked Vandalieu as he received the battleaxe, and then looked at him with a serious expression.
「Vandalieu, you should be the King.」
「… I'm sorry?」
「Us Ghouls join forces with other villages to fight against a common enemy. When that happens, the one who stands at the top and gives the orders is the King. That should be you.」
「… I'm sorry?*」
From Vigaro's explanation, Vandalieu understood the role of the King, but he couldn't understand why he should be the one in such an important position. Vandalieu was confused, but Basdia looked happy at his response.
「I'm glad you've agreed, Van.」
「No no no, I didn't mean『yes』to agree, but『I'm sorry?*』」
「But Van, everyone else says you're the most suitable as well.」
「Who do you mean by "everyone"?!」
「Everyone other than you, Van.」
「When?!」
It seemed that they had been discussing it while the Magic Items were being distributed.
『Congratulations, Bocchan.』
『This is a great success for you~♪』
『We'll do our best, too!』
Sam and his daughters had apparently also participated in the discussions. It seemed that not a single person had any complaints.
Sam's faint, white Spirit Form raised his hand, giving Vandalieu a thumbs-up. Rita and Saria were also giving a rattling applause.
『Oh Vandalieu, you've become such a fine boy!』
Darcia had woken up without Vandalieu noticing and was now crying tears of happiness. Was she feeling like a parent whose child had been chosen as the class representative or put in the leading role in the school arts festival?
「No no no, let's not get ahead of ourselves. You might all be fine with it, but will the other villages agree? I'm a Dhampir, you know. I'm of a different race. Will they accept such a King?」
「It will be alright; that is not a problem.」
「Yeah, if it were a human then there'd probably be some opposition, but since you're a Dhampir, it'll be fine.」
「… Well, even I think that it'll probably be fine.」
The founder of Ghouls was thought to be the younger brother or sister of the founder of Vampires. A Dhampir whose blood was half-Vampire was something like a relative for Ghouls. In addition, Dhampirs were considered monsters by the Amid Empire and its nations.
And Vandalieu possessed the[Death-Attribute Charm]skill. Even Vandalieu knew that the other Ghoul villages wouldn't be strongly opposed to him being the King.
「And you do meet the requirements to be the King, boy, in terms of your ability and achievements.」
Vandalieu had once told Zadiris that he possessed the[Strengthen Followers]skill.
「Boy, the[Strengthen Followers]skill that you mentioned to me before does exactly as its name suggests, increasing the attribute points of your followers. Your followers are your Undead, and we will be your followers as well. In other words, if you stand at the top position as King, you will strengthen all of the Ghouls that follow your command. That skill is something like a King-specific skill.」
The[Strengthen Followers]skill is something that any monster bearing the title of "King" possesses. Thanks to this skill, the group of monsters led by the King is stronger than normal and their numbers are also greater.
Though Zadiris didn't know this, there was once a Goblin King who had obtained a level 10[Strengthen Followers]skill and his followers fought evenly against fully-armed knights, wielding only tree branches and wearing fur loincloths.
There was a reason that the Adventurers' Guild treated the appearance of a King as a disastrous event.
「You are the one who made an effort to correct our weakness of not being able to reproduce easily, did you not? You opened up our future and helped us prosper. You have already shown success in doing so as well. If these are not the achievements of a leader, then I do not know what are.」
Vandalieu felt that Zadiris was exaggerating with her words, but difficulty with reproduction was a problem that Ghouls as a race faced, and the fact that they couldn't increase their numbers had been a heavy restriction that prevented them from expanding.
If the other Ghouls knew that Vandalieu had a way to solve this problem, they would gladly gather to follow his command.
Having never imagined that solving the problem of the Ghouls' declining birth rates would lead to this, Vandalieu put a hand to his forehead. Vigaro seemed happy that things had gone well. He had made Vandalieu heavily involved as he had said he would, but he was slightly immature about it.
「I understand. I will become the King.」
And so Vandalieu became the Ghoul King before even becoming an adventurer.
『Vandalieu has acquired the Title* of[Ghoul King!]』
『The level of the[Strengthen Followers]skill has increased!』
The first job for this King was armor-fitting.
「Gudan, are there any tight or hard-to-move parts?」
「It's hard to move my elbows and neck, and my helmet is too tight.」
Ghoul men possessed the heads of lions and had arms so long that their fists would reach the ground even if they were standing upright. Since their appearance was so different from humans, they couldn't use the human-designed armor that Vandalieu had distributed without some adjustments.
Normally, a skilled craftsman and some time would be needed to alter them for Ghoul use.
「Now then, stand up.」
However, Vandalieu had thought of a method that didn't require either.
First, he would have the Ghouls put the armor on, and then turn them into Living Armor… to be more accurate, armor-shaped Golems.
「The shape of the armor is going to change, so try moving your arms and neck.」
With a creaking noise, the armor gradually changed shape with the use of the[Golem Transmutation]skill. It took less than ten minutes for the metal human-shaped armor to become suitable for Ghoul use.
It looked unrefined as it had no decorations, but it had plenty of function. There were some parts that the armor didn't cover because the Ghouls' arms were so long, but that would be fixed by using leather parts made from monster hides.
「Oh, it's become really comfortable! Thanks, King!」
「You're welcome. Next person~」
This work wasn't King-like at all, but since the village's craftsmen had only worked with monster hides, bones and horns before, they were unable to adjust the metal armor. That was why there was no option but for Vandalieu to do it himself.
The King-like work… visiting the other Ghoul villages and requesting for their cooperation would begin tomorrow. The villages had been established in a way that their hunting grounds didn't overlap, so they were quite far apart, and they thought of each other as rivals when there wasn't a common enemy, so even Zadiris didn't know their exact locations or numbers.
Vandalieu's insect Undead and spirit informants would help them estimate where they were.
This seemed like an unexpectedly slow plan, but the Noble Orc's village wouldn't act before spring and possibly even as late as summer, so they had time.
Of course, they wanted to save the captured female Ghouls as soon as possible, but rushing things and getting defeated would be pointless.
Incidentally, the Ghouls didn't really think about saving the female adventurers that had been captured. Adventurers were normally enemies for Ghouls. Basdia and Bilde seemed to sympathize for them as women, but not enough to risk anything for them.
And Vandalieu had no desire to do so either. The adventurers of the nation of Mirg were enemies for him as well. He knew that it was possible that if he saved them, they would say something like,「Thanks for saving us, in return, we'll exterminate you, okay~♪」
(Well, if I saw them being tormented with my own eyes or if it turned out that they were people I knew, then I might think to save them.)
Vandalieu was aware that if he saw women being hurt, he would associate them with Darcia and his blood would quickly rise to his head.
(I suppose we'll do what we can quickly and efficiently, and if they're still alive after we win, then I'll save them.)
If he abandoned captured adventurers, he was worried about what the cheaters who would be reincarnated here in the future would say, so he did intend to save them in the end.
(Ah, now that I think about it, should I tell Zadiris and the others about my circumstances? Yes, I'll tell them after this. Zadiris, Vigaro, Basdia… Those three, I suppose. I'll make them heavily involved with me as well, just as they've done with me.)
As Vandalieu was thinking this strange revenge, the next person needing armor fitting came forward.
It was Basdia.
「Basdia? Is it tight somewhere?」
Vandalieu had been told to drop the honorifics now that he was King, so he omitted the "san" and Basdia replied with a casual「Yeah.」
He had thought that the women's armor wouldn't need adjustment, as Ghoul women had identical body shapes to humans.
「My chest is a little… no, very tight.」
「… Now that you mention it, most of the armor was designed for men.」
He realized that he needed to adjust everyone's armor after all.
『The levels of the[Golem Transmutation],[Surpass Limits]and[Status Effect Resistance]skills have increased!』
Name: Vandalieu
Race: Dhampir (Dark Elf)
Age: 2 years, 6 months old
Title:[Ghoul King]
Job: None
Level: 100
Job history: None
Attributes:
Vitality: 47
Mana: 113,551,200
Strength: 40
Agility: 16
Stamina: 42
Intelligence: 75
Passive skills:
Superhuman Strength: Level 1
Rapid Healing: Level 2
Death-Attribute Magic: Level 3
Status Effect Resistance: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Magic Resistance: Level 1
Dark Vision
Mental Corruption: Level 10
Death-Attribute Charm: Level 3
Chant Revocation: Level 1
Strengthen Followers: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)
Active skills:
Bloodsucking: Level 3
Surpass Limits: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Golem Transmutation: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
No-Attribute Magic: Level 1
Mana Control: Level 1
Spirit Form: Level 1 (NEW!)
Curses
Experience gained in previous life not carried over
Cannot learn existing Jobs
Unable to gain Experience Points independently
About Titles:
Titles are acquired when an influential individual and many other people recognize you as bearing that title. It is also known as a Written Name, Alias or Degree.
The effects of a Title depends on the reason the Title has been bestowed on the individual and the meaning of the Title, granting new related skills or increasing the levels of existing ones and strengthening their effects.
[Ghoul King]
This Title increases the effects of the[Strengthen Followers]and[Death-Attribute Charm]skills on Ghouls. Also, it increases the level of the[Strengthen Followers]skill and treats the value of the number of Ghouls under its influence as double when calculating other effects.
Skill explanation:
[Strengthen Followers]
This skill increases the attribute values of individuals belonging to a race under the skill bearer's influence. It also has the effect of increasing fertility and the rate at which the offspring of affected individuals develop.
This skill's level increases as the number of followers increases. The skill is level 1 below a hundred followers, level 2 at two hundred followers and level 3 at five hundred followers.
The humans, elves and dwarves that are designated as people in the Amid Empire cannot acquire this skill, but the new races created by Vida can acquire it in rare cases. However, the majority of creatures that possess this skill are monsters such as Goblin Kings.
Chapter 17: He was supposed to become the Ghoul King because of his skills.
The Noble Orc was planning to attack a human town. There was fear over whether he would order his large village of Orcs to attack the Ghoul village before doing so.
Vandalieu was to fight them with the Ghouls that were his family, bearing the Title of Ghoul King.
Vandalieu was in the midst of an alchemy lesson.
He crushed the contents of the mortar while pouring a certain amount of Mana into it. Incidentally, the contents were Kobold bones, Magic Stones from Kobolds, dried Poison Toad organs and his own blood.
He used the resulting product to draw a magic circle, and if it functioned as a Magic Item, he had succeeded. If not, then it would be a failure. Regardless of whether it succeeded or failed, he would repeat this process until he obtained the skill.
Though the contents of the mortar varied a little, the contents of his lessons did not.
An individual of a higher race of Orcs, the Noble Orcs, was leading a group of monsters five hundred strong including the Goblins and Kobolds under its command. There was a powerful enemy to face, but was it alright for him to be doing something like this after receiving the Title of Ghoul King?
While he was doing this, the Orcs were treating the captured Ghoul women and female adventurers as their playthings!
But Vandalieu continued crushing the contents of the mortar, not thinking about these things.
「If we panic and rush things now, it's certain that only bad things will happen.」
The Ghouls and Vandalieu knew this.
Of course, they were gathering information. Vandalieu had distributed Undead bugs to determine the location of the Noble Orc's village and find other Ghouls, and messengers had been sent to other Ghoul villages whose locations Zadiris and the others still remembered.
There was no need to move until such information had been gathered. The earliest the enemy would make a move would be spring. And it was still the end of December, not even halfway through winter.
Orcs had a gestation period of half a year when they bred and they only took another half year to grow into adults. This was why the Ghouls did plan to move as soon as they got the information they needed, so the enemy numbers wouldn't be too great.
「Still, this skill is quite hard to obtain.」(Vandalieu)
Vandalieu honestly found it difficult to learn. Several months had already passed since he began his alchemy lessons and he still hadn't obtained the skill.
「That is to be expected. In fact, you are quicker to learn it than most monsters, boy.」(Zadiris)
However, Zadiris encouraged him.
「Though if you were a human, that may not be the case.」(Zadiris)
The levels of skills generally range from 1 to 10.
Those with a level 1 skill are novices that have just learned the skill. For combat-related skills, this is the level at which the user can just manage to use the skill in real battle. Those with level 1 crafting skills would be at the level of an amateur hobbyist.
The average soldier possesses level 2 combat-related skills, and those with level 2 crafting skills are considered unskilled craftsmen.
Adventurers and mercenaries that possess level 3 combat-related skills are considered fully qualified. Craftsmen with level 3 skills are quite skilled, but not allowed to operate independently.
Those with level 4 combat-related skills are considered competent veterans in their fields. Level 4 crafting skills are the minimum requirement for an independent craftsman.
Those with level 5 combat-related skills are top-class users of those skills, and it is common for Class adventurers to possess skills at this level.
Those with level 6 combat-related skills are fit to be instructors for nobles, and are close to being B-class adventurers. Those with level 6 crafting skills are able to run stores in large cities.
Those with level 7 combat-related skills are sought after by countries and noblemen; adventurers with skills at this level are B-class unless their behavior is considered greatly problematic. Craftsmen with level 7 skills have multiple people that apply to be their apprentices every year.
Those with level 8 skills are masters whose names are known across the entire country.
Those with level 9 skills leave their names in history. A-class adventurers possess skills at this level.
Level 10 skills are in the realm of superhuman abilities.
And there are rare cases where a skill surpasses level 10, becoming a transcendental skill. Possessing such a skill could make one worshipped by others. One would be called names such as Sword King or Flame Emperor, and be considered a god.
It would perhaps be equivalent to Miyamoto Musashi* on Earth. It is unlikely that Miyamoto Musashi could move faster than sound, fight for a week straight without eating or drinking, or cut through a mountain-sized rock that's harder than steel, however.
These were Vandalieu's estimations of how skills worked, based on what he had heard from Darcia and Zadiris.
With that in mind, it made sense that obtaining skills like alchemy or magic-related skills took numerous months.
However, in this world, there is a component that didn't exist on Earth or in Origin.
The bonuses to skills offered by Jobs.
The people of lambda can gain bonuses to learning skills by obtaining Jobs. This increases the rate at which one obtains and levels up skills.
Because of this, an amateur can become a master swordsman or craftsman in just a few years. In the case of swordsmen, though, many die before they can gain the Experience Points they need.
Looking at it another way, acquiring skills and leveling them up in this world without obtaining a Job is difficult. Even with an excellent teacher, the apprentice having an appropriate Job is almost a prerequisite for learning skills.
In that regard, Vandalieu was quite exceptional considering that he had learned skills and leveled them up without a Job.
Because of his curse, Vandalieu's experience from his previous lives didn't manifest directly in his skills. But he still remembered the feeling of learning skills and still had the experience which helped him learn them, and his vast Mana pool allowed him to practice magic dozens of times more than the average person.
Also, he received racial bonuses by being a member of the Dhampir race.
As proof of this, he hadn't learned any martial skills, which he hadn't experienced using at all on Earth or in Lambda.
「So in short, obtaining a Job would make it easier to acquire new skills.」(Vandalieu)
「Well, that is correct.」(Zadiris)
「… I've found another reason to hate this country.」(Vandalieu)
Changing Jobs required special rooms owned by organizations such as Guilds, so it was impossible for Vandalieu to acquire a Job in the Amid Empire where he was treated as a monster.
Even if Vandalieu was able to use such a room, his[Cannot learn existing Jobs]curse would likely make it impossible for him to change Jobs.
「But since pouring my hate on the country won't help me gain skills, I'll just have to keep working diligently.」(Vandalieu)
「Indeed. That is wise of you, boy.」(Zadiris)
Zadiris patted Vandalieu's head, but if she was aware that his[Status Effect Resistance]and[Surpass Limits]skills had increased in level, she would likely have him stop his diligent work.
These skills were increasing in level because of the Status Effect known as "overwork" that Vandalieu was affected by, and because he was pushing past the limits of what an infant's body could withstand, every day.
However, Vandalieu had no intention to stop pushing himself. This was something that hadn't changed ever since Darcia had been killed.
The next day, he learned where the other Ghoul villages were. There were ten of them in total. However, they only needed to make the multiple-day journey to visit four of them.
The other six had already been attacked by the Orcs.
『Th-the men were killed and the Women… GRRRR!』
『GAAAH! My village, it's been burned down! THOSE PIIIIIGS!』
『It hurts! It hurts! Mother was screaming! It hurts! I can't breeeeaaaathe!』
『We attacked! The Ghouls! Bugogan-sama's orders! The Ghouls' venom, because of Orc-Mage-sama's magic, no work on us!』
Vandalieu listened to the words of the spirits of the Ghouls and Orcs who had died in battle that had followed his Undead insects back to the village. Many spirits were only capable of howling and crying because too much time had elapsed since their deaths and even those capable of speaking did so in fragmented sentences, but Vandalieu could piece together what had happened.
The Noble Orc Bugogan had apparently been attacking Ghoul villages one after another, starting with the smallest ones. Most Ghoul villages other than Zadiris's village had between thirty to fifty members. Groups of eighty or so slave Goblins and Kobolds attacked them, with the Noble Orc's sons in command.
There were apparently some Ghoul villages that didn't have any strong individuals like Ghoul Mages or Ghoul Barbarians. In those villages, a Rank 4 Ghoul Warrior that might be in a middle-rank position in Zadiris's village acted as the chief.
It wouldn't be surprising for them to be annihilated in a one-sided battle when the Rank 6 Noble Orc attacked. And it seemed that the numerous Orc Mages were able to cast spells that granted resistance against the paralyzing venom that Ghouls secreted from their claws.
This magic would be cast on the Orc soldiers and some of the slaves before the battle.
The Ghouls' resistance had been fierce, killing many of the Goblins and Kobolds. But since the Orcs captured Ghoul females in the process, it was a net gain for them.
And so Bugogan had killed over a hundred Ghoul men and kidnapped over a hundred Ghoul women. Ghoul women had much sturdier bodies than humans, and made excellent mothers.
It seemed that Bugogan had used the Ghoul women in addition to the female Goblins and Kobolds to further increase the number of his Orc soldiers.
The Kobold Shaman hadn't known these things, likely because it was a Spiritualist who was never sent out onto the frontlines and because it was a slave.
「So it seems that the Orcs increase in number by about a hundred every year. I think a lot of them actually die in the harsh battles that they consider their training, but I think their breeding is accelerating, so let us tear out their entrails while they are still alive and scatter their brains across the ground.」(Vandalieu)
「Boy, I understand that you are angry, but you must calm yourself.」(Zadiris)
「Yeah, calm down. It's not good for us if even the young ones get heated.」(Vigaro)
「I'm not angry. I'm just empathizing with the spirits.」(Vandalieu)
「Isn't that even worse?!」(Vigaro)
「Boy, the Mana that has leaked out of you has taken the shape of skulls and is rather terrifying.」(Zadiris)
Zadiris and Vigaro, Vandalieu's close friends, stepped away from him in fear as countless black skulls swarmed around him.
Ghouls from outside this village were mere strangers to Vandalieu, and not people that he should have any particular feelings for. However, after hearing the words of the spirits, he couldn't contain his feelings of anger towards the Orcs.
「Since Orcs are a race with only males, I think they cannot help that part of their behavior. If they don't do what they're doing, then they cannot maintain their own race. The instinct to reproduce is one of the three main needs*, and it would be cruel to tell them to abstain. In fact, the ones to blame are the Demon King and the evil gods for making creatures that live and reproduce this way. But I also can't help being angry.」(Vandalieu)
「… Vandalieu, I can't tell if you're calm or not. Also, what are the three main needs*?」(Vigaro)
「Even I do not know… Well, I am relieved to see that you do not seem to have lost control over yourself. In any case, there are four surviving villages, correct? Let us hurry and send messengers to them.」(Zadiris)
Tarea gave orders to the men of the village while sitting on a hand-made throne, looking down on those obeying her commands and feeling pleased with herself.
With golden pupils, gray-brown skin and claws stained purple with paralyzing venom, she was clearly a Ghoul woman. However, one could possibly tell from the fact that the letters of her name contains no dakuten*, she was a Ghoul who was originally a human.
As a human, Tarea was the daughter of a skilled smith. She had inherited his qualities and displayed promising talent at a young age, and people had expected her to one day be an exceptional smith, even more skilled than her father.
However, a large company expanded into the city that she lived in and her parents lost their store. And then they made a mortifying decision. They sold Tarea as a slave.
Tarea was indeed a talented girl, but she also had two younger brothers. In those days, the ones who succeeded the family, whether it was a noble family or a commoner family, was always a son.
Even though Tarea's younger brothers also had clear talent and ability… No, because they did, her family decided to sell her and take back their store.
Tarea was talented, but she also had a refined physical appearance. As a young girl, she already possessed a body that was highly attractive to men, and so she was sold at a high price.
After being sold, she was forced to work as a prostitute and suffered deep emotional wounds from her family's betrayal and the circumstances she now found herself in. She was forced to serve arrogant clients countless times, and in the end, she was unable to bear it and decided to escape.
She found an opening to kill her client and escape the brothel, leaving the city. As she fled, she ran into a Devil's Nest to throw off her pursuers.
And so she managed to escape, but she was then caught by Ghouls.
Tarea despaired as she thought she was going to be eaten alive, but the group of Ghouls that captured her was small and lacked females. What they desired from her was not her meat, but for her breeding function as a woman.
Tarea was transformed from a human into a Ghoul by a ritual. Having already lost her willpower to resist, she opened her body to the Ghoul men and came to spend every day obeying their commands.
Because she had become a Ghoul, even if she escaped, she would be killed if spotted by humans.
And because she was originally a human, she didn't know any techniques to make use of her newly-gained superhuman strength and paralyzing venom.
For Tarea to survive, she had no choice but to obey the commands of the Ghoul men. But did she have a future if she kept living on like this?
Her eyes were clouded with despair, but her days of living such a life changed when she laid eyes on the fur of a Huge Boar that the men had hunted and brought back.
As Tarea stroked the fur, she remembered her past and whispered about how it would make good armor. Hearing that whisper, the Ghoul men said,「Make it, then.」
She obeyed them, creating Ghoul-fitted leather armor of the same quality that one would find sold in human cities, using the limited materials available.
From that moment on, Tarea's position in this group of Ghouls changed to the person destined to become the next chief.
Tarea made pieces of equipment one after another out of the materials brought to her by the Ghoul men. Even though she had transformed from a human into a Ghoul, her talent had never stopped shining.
A Giant Scorpion's carapace would become a shield; an Iron Turtle's shell would become armor; an Impaler Ox's horns would become a spear.
The warriors in the group of Ghouls Tarea belonged to were as well-equipped as adventurers and they kept hunting monsters one after another, becoming strong enough to even kill adventurers who attacked them.
Having regained her willpower, she used techniques she had learned during her times as a prostitute to control the men and make them submit to her. She taught the other women who were jealous of her how to make the men submissive, thus gathering them under her.
And a hundred years after she became a Ghoul, Tarea rose to the top position in the group, despite being weaker than everyone else.
And more than a hundred years after that, the group of less than twenty Ghouls that had been on the brink of extermination now numbered over sixty. Other Ghoul villages desired Tarea's equipment and brought food to trade for it. The influence that Tarea's group of Ghouls had was even greater than Zadiris's village that had over a hundred Ghouls.
「Fufu, at this rate, I'll have control over this Devil's Nest in another ten years.」
Tarea sat on a comfortable throne carved out of a Treant, her body decorated with jeweled accessories taken from the corpses of adventurers, stroking her rich black hair and hiding her mouth behind a folding fan made from the shell of an Iron Turtle carved thin. With this appearance, it was completely appropriate to call her a Ghoul Queen.
… Though she had made everything herself by hand, strangely enough.
Tarea had no contact with Zadiris's village and hadn't learned about the large group of Orcs led by Bugogan, so she had no doubts that her ambitions would become reality.
「For me, who was once a mere commoner and even fell as low as to becoming a slave, to rule this Devil's Nest full of monsters far more powerful than humans… Fufufu, my heart is dancing.」
「Tarea-sama, please make my shield.」
「Tarea-sama, my armor too, please!」
「Wait a little longer! Even if you do not ask me, I will make it for you!」
Wondering if the chief's morning work was finished, some Ghouls called out to her. Gloating to herself like this was Tarea's daily routine.
「Chief! We all worked together to defeat a Metal Slime!」
「What did you say?!」
And in the evenings, when the warriors returned from hunting, she would unconsciously stand up from her throne with her eyes sparkling.
And in front of her was the silvery mucus of a Metal Slime in a leather bag, as heavy as iron, and the Metal Slime's silver-colored core.
The moment she saw these, Tarea's cheeks turned red and her body swayed, as if she were a maiden reuniting with her lover after a long time apart.
「Oh my… The materials of a Metal Slime, which possess the properties of both a liquid and metal! What kind of weapon… no, armor? Ah, what should I do, I wonder what kind of lovely equipment I should make~♪」
Though her body was radiating her sex appeal indiscriminately, the words coming from her mouth had no sex appeal at all. But the Ghouls of her village were used to this already, so none of them were surprised. In fact, they were happy.
Tarea was a chief who skillfully created equipment, and perhaps because of the time she had spent as a commoner, she treated those below her well. As she was over two hundred and fifty years old, she had retired from her work as a woman, but even so, she was a popular leader among her people.
Tarea had become somewhat accustomed to the Ghouls as well, and enjoyed a far more fulfilling life than the one she had as a human.
「Chief! There are reports from the lookouts that there is a carriage coming this way!」
A young Ghoul delivered this news in a flustered voice.
「! Adventurers, huh. How many are there?」
There was no way that there would be any monsters using a carriage in this Devil's Nest. In that case, it must be adventurers.
As if her previous behavior towards the Metal Slime ingredients had never happened, Tarea's expression became tense and a sharp glint appeared in her eye.
「That is, the carriage is surrounded by Ghouls and the carriage itself apparently looks a bit like an Undead.」
「… How many Ghouls were there? If it is one or two, there is a possibility that they have been tamed by a Tamer.」
Tarea thought that a Tamer may have positioned tamed monsters outside the carriage while concealing himself inside the carriage, but there were five Ghouls outside the carriage.
Ghouls were a race with their roots tracing back to the goddess Vida, but since they shared the same lineage as monsters, it was possible to tame them. However, they were far more difficult to tame than normal monsters. Only a first-class tamer would be able to simultaneously tame five Ghouls and an Undead carriage.
It was difficult to imagine that such a first-rate tamer would need to hide himself inside the carriage.
「The Ghouls from another village might have tamed a strange Undead creature… Any warriors still left in the village, come out. You must protect me.」
It seemed unlikely that five Ghouls and an Undead would come to attack this village, even if half of its warriors were absent at the moment, but Tarea gathered together some Ghouls to escort her and went out to the front of the village.
When she did, she saw exactly what she had heard in the reports - an Undead carriage surrounded by five Ghouls.
「Stop. Do you have some business with my village?」
As Tarea called out to them, surrounded by many of her own Ghouls, the carriage stopped.
「We want to discuss something. A common enemy has appeared, and all of the other villages that have relations with you guys have agreed to cooperate.」
「A common enemy…」
When a common enemy appears, Ghouls set up a system to work together. This is not because of some mere instinct, but because this is the best way to have the highest chance to survive. Though Tarea was originally a human, she understood this well. But because she was originally a human, she had her suspicions.
She suspected that they might be trying to absorb her village for the benefit of their own village.
The Ghouls around her seemed agitated at hearing the words "common enemy", but she calmed them by snapping her folding fan shut and stared at the unfamiliar Ghouls.
「I don't suppose that I could hear the details?」
Since becoming a Ghoul, Tarea had learned that most Ghouls had simple personalities. They didn't possess strong personalities and weren't suited to using conspiracy.
That was why it was most effective to ask the question directly, in an easy-to-understand way.
「Yes. I will explain the details.」
A small silhouette emerged from beyond the canopy of the carriage. Tarea noticed the small body and voice that could easily be hidden and overlooked among the Ghouls.
No, he couldn't be overlooked.
He possessed such charisma that he compelled others to kneel before him, just by standing there.
Long white hair, blood-red and mysterious blue-purple pupils, and abnormally white skin. He was clearly not a Ghoul, but there was something that made it clear that he was an important person.
Before Tarea even realized it, the other Ghouls were already kneeling on the ground. Unable to resist, Tarea was about to sink her own two knees into the dirt, but Vandalieu spoke to stop her.
「Err, please be at ease. You're Tarea-san, correct? My name is Vandalieu, and I have been elected as the Ghoul King for this incident.」
The owner of this charisma felt earnestly ashamed that these Ghouls were kneeling before him.
Individuals possessing the Title of "King", such as Goblin Kings and Kobold Kings, command unconditional obedience from any members of their own race that they encounter and are able to add them to their ranks of followers.
That is because the weaker members react to the[Strengthen Followers]skill. Their instincts tell them to make themselves and the race as a whole more powerful by following the King's command.
The same thing… No, something even greater than that happened in the villages that Vandalieu visited. It seemed that the[Strengthen Followers]skill and the[Death-Attribute Charm]skill combined to form an incredible synergy.
「You're amazing, King.」
「I didn't think that they'd fall to their knees just by being spoken to.」
As Vandalieu's escorts said, there were a lot of amazing things about this situation. It was as if he had become an elderly nobleman in a historical play.
But Vandalieu wasn't happy to see adults with much larger bodies than his own kneeling before him; he felt guilty about it.
He had lived about forty years across his three lives, but he had only lived seventeen, twenty and two years in each of them respectively, so his personality and growth were fragmented. Vandalieu didn't think of himself as an adult at all and had only thought of his Title of Ghoul King as an honorary position to improve the effectiveness of his skills, so he was greatly disturbed by the Ghouls' behavior.
He had learned of Tarea in other villages. She was someone who held influence in multiple groups of Ghouls and was even called the Ghoul Queen. Seeing even her almost kneel before him, he even felt guilty.
「These are the circumstances, so I humbly request that your village to lend us its strength as well, Tarea-san. Of course, I don't know if I can call this a remuneration, but I can prepare some things in compensation.」
As a result, he was speaking extremely politely.
Vandalieu's poor communication skills already caused him to speak humbly in order to avoid the other person becoming angry, and this only added to that.
「I-I see. So this compensation is…?」
「I cannot create them right now, but I can offer you items that increase the Ghouls' birth rate and preserve food for a long period of time.」
The things one could offer Ghouls, who didn't use a monetary system, were limited. The only things that Vandalieu could offer were the Magic Items to increase Ghoul birth rates and cast the[Preservation]spell that he would create in the near future.
「Is that true?!」
But upon hearing that the Ghouls' birth rate could be increased, Tarea and the other Ghouls let out voices of astonishment. The problem of low birth rates was something that affected not only Zadiris's village, but the entire Ghoul race.
Vandalieu said that he could solve this, so the Ghouls stared at him as if in worship.
『I think my Status Effect Resistance skill is going to level up again because of this stress…』
But Vandalieu couldn't say this out loud. Being told to「be friendly, but don't overreact」was too selfish a request.
「In that case, we will be happy to come under your command, Vandalieu-sama.」
「… You can be more familiar with me; you can drop the honorific, or add -san, or call me "boy".」
Vandalieu wanted her to stop adding -sama to his name, or at least wait until he was a bit older before doing so.
「Oh my~♪」
Why did she seem so happy?
「Well then, Van-sama. I, Tarea, will carry out your will and serve at your side.」
Vandalieu had no memory of asking for such a thing, but for some reason, Tarea had now become his close aide. He couldn't understand why.
However, Tarea had discovered a new ambition.
The ambition of raising this Ghoul King to the top, expanding his ruled domain outside this Devil's Nest and securing glory for herself as his aide.
『To think that such a chance would come for me when I'm over two hundred and sixty years old! Fufu, I was once at the very bottom, and now I will see how high up I can go. Until the moment I die!』
Tarea's eyes glittered with her ambition. As if defeated by those eyes, Vandalieu turned his gaze towards the Spirit Form of Sam, sitting in the coachman's seat, but…
『Bocchan, you are popular with the older women as always.』
Vandalieu received this compliment from Sam, but he had the feeling that this popularity wasn't the kind of popularity he wanted.
『But once you become a nobleman, those kinds of people will often visit, so I think this is perfect practice for you.』
Darcia had seen straight through Tarea's obvious ulterior motives, but she intended to simply watch as Vandalieu went through this experience.
Vandalieu's one point of salvation was that the charisma that seemed to be affecting Tarea and her village would weaken, as they were now under the influence of his[Strengthen Followers skill]and their instincts to obey him as monsters should be satisfied.
『The level of the[Strengthen Followers]skill has increased!』
A strange woman moved through the Devil's Nest alone.
Her being alone was rare, but not unheard of. The Adventurers' Guild recommended forming parties in order to maintain the safety of the adventurers and the chance of successfully completing requests, but acting solo wasn't prohibited.
But if one looked carefully, her equipment and behavior was noticeably unusual.
The woman's equipment looked brand new and unreliable. She was equipped with completely unscratched leather armor that covered only her chest and waist, not protecting even the bare minimum that armor should, and a small shield about the size of her face.
But she showed no signs of fear as she proceeded through the Devil's Nest, slaughtering with a single swing of her sword the low-level monsters such as Horned Rabbits and Goblins that attacked her.
She didn't make any attempt to tear off the body parts of the monsters that served as proof of having killed them, or the parts that could be used as materials.
「I guess it's about time.」
A completely lifeless voice escaped her lips. As she did so, Orcs appeared around her. She was completely surrounded, and among her enemies she could see a Noble Orc with blonde hair and a body larger than those of normal Orcs.
Facing these Orcs who were breathing loudly through their noses, she didn't resist. Instead, she dropped her short sword to the ground as if throwing her weapon away.
There was no fear or any kind of emotion at all on her face.
Name: Tarea
Rank: 3
Race: Ghoul
Level: 1
Job: Prostitute
Job Level: 100
Job history: Apprentice Arms Smith, Arms Smith → Slave (Forced Job change at level 47), Apprentice Prostitute
Age: 263 years old
Passive skills:
Night Vision
Pain Resistance: Level 1
Superhuman Strength: Level 1
Paralyzing Venom Secretion (Claws): Level 1
Allure: Level 1
Active skills:
Estimation: Level 6
Armor Smithing: Level 6
Weapon Smithing: Level 6
Seduction*: Level 5
Dancing: Level 2
Love-making: Level 2
Tarea was formerly a human girl gifted in both smithing skills and skills in the bedroom. She is a special individual who was transformed into a Ghoul via a ceremony. She creates equipment for the Ghoul men while also enticing them into submission. She teaches the other Ghoul women how to make men submissive as well as her smithing techniques, making the hierarchy very clear to them.
However, as she has never properly hunted prey before, her level as a monster hasn't increased and she is the weakest among all the Ghouls. But as a smith, she possesses more skill than a nobleman's personal employee or the most skilled smith one might find in a large city.
This is the result of over two hundred years of hard work and experience. But if she had access to the latest tools, proper working environment and variety of available materials that living in a human society would offer as well as changing her Job back from Prostitute to Smith, her skill would likely increase even more.
About forced Job changes:
This is a special treatment for criminals and those who have fallen into slavery. Though it doesn't cause the loss of already-learned skills, the previous Job no longer has an effect on status and can no longer level up.
This is clearly displayed when one's status is checked at facilities such as Guilds, so it acts as a way to prevent slaves from escaping.
However, this was a practice used over two hundred years ago. In modern times, it has become more commonplace to put collars on slaves that only the owner is able to remove.