The Death Mage that doesn't want a fourth time 133

The area south of the marshlands had terrain resembling the continent of Africa that Vandalieu knew of, with clear air and red dirt.

However, it simply had some things that looked similar to the African continent based on what Vandalieu had seen on TV; it was actually quite different.

There were bands of forests, grass-covered plains and savannahs in a checker-like pattern, and there were no deserts. Also, there was a number of streams flowing from the marshlands and rivers flowing from the Boundary Mountain Range to the left and right, so it wasn’t a dry land.

And although it was summer now, it seemed cooler than the highly humid marshlands… The truth was that Earth’s Africa wasn’t just a hot area; places that were elevated high above sea level were far cooler than Japan, but Vandalieu didn’t know this, of course.

“Each of our cities is a nation. In other words, we have set up the city-states as we were taught,” said Gizania.

According to her, all nations, including the Noble Orc empire itself, consisted of one large city, with the very rare exceptions of small-scale villages and settlements that didn’t have towns.

This was because the surrounding areas were all Devil’s Nests where monsters ran rampant, so small communities couldn’t be maintained.

In fact, the monsters that appeared in this area were mostly Rank 4. It was just a single Rank above the areas around Talosheim and the marshlands, but if Rank 3 monsters were equivalent to bears and Rank 4 were like tyrannosaurus rexes, the difference in danger was very clear.

Even for Arachne and Noble Orcs, maintaining small settlements with non-combatants in such lands wouldn’t yield enough benefits.

“Considering that, I suppose we were just blessed. We did make cultivation villages before we were destroyed,” said Borkus.

“The risk of young warriors losing their lives against Rank 4 monsters is high, too,” said Princess Levia.

“We also lived in a Devil’s Nest, but… almost all of us were capable of fighting,” said Zadiris.

“And most of the monsters around us were weaker than young warriors, or could be defeated by taking them on in groups. It’s different here,” said Vigaro.

“To tell you the truth, it would have been impossible for me to return this far on my own, even if I had not been wounded,” said Gizania. “There are monsters that attack in groups, after all. This is all thanks to you people; I would like you to allow me to thank you once more… And is he alright? Ever since he separated himself from Legion-dono who appeared early this morning, he does not seem to be feeling well,” she said, looking worriedly towards an ill-looking Kurt Legston, younger brother of Chezare and lieutenant-general (effectively vice-prime-minister) of Talosheim.

“I think he’s fine. I gave him medicine, so I think he’ll get better soon,” said Vandalieu.

As for why Kurt was there, Vandalieu had returned to Talosheim once via Legion’s teleportation to report the situation. Chezare had said that someone should be dispatched as a diplomat, so Kurt had been dispatched here as a result.

Via teleportation while buried in Legion’s flesh.

As a result, he was now crouched over with a pale face, covering his mouth.

“I thought it would be better than having insects or seeds infest me and being equipped inside you, Your Majesty, but… it was quite bad,” he said.

It seemed that being buried inside Legion placed a heavier mental burden on one than having insects crawl all over the body. Though when Vandalieu was hugged by legion, he was essentially half-buried and didn’t think that it was unpleasant.

“I am supposed to be a civil official, but… Isn’t Ani-ue more suited for this than I am? Though I do understand that both Your Majesty and Ani-ue, who is effectively the prime minister, cannot be absent at the same time,” Kurt said. “Ah, on the way back, please infest me with insects. If possible, I would have wanted to go back using my own two feet, but crossing terrain that is crawling with monsters of Rank 4 and above would be impossible.”

As he finished speaking, Kurt slowly managed to stand up; perhaps the anti-nausea medicine had begun to take effect.

“You alright? You can sleep if you need to,” said Borkus.

“I’m not alright, but I cannot just stay asleep. Things have suddenly become more serious, and the people we are negotiating with are great in scale,” Kurt said as he looked towards Gizania’s still-distant but visible nation, named Zanalpadna like the god they worshipped.

Considering that there were tall walls to keep monsters out, more than twice as tall as Talosheim’s walls, the nation of Zanalpadna was far larger than the city of Niarki in the Hartner Duchy, which had a population of a hundred thousand.

It was still smaller than Nineland, which had a population of a million, but it was quite a large-scale city-state.

“But is it alright for us to approach from the front?” Kurt asked.

“Should we wait outside?” Gorba suggested.

The two of them sounded uncertain. Human nations would at least guarantee the safety of any diplomats, even if there were no diplomatic relations established to begin with. But Zanalpadna and Talosheim hadn’t even known of each other’s existence until a few days ago.

However, Gorba and the rest of the Orcuses of the Black Fang Knights’ Order were difficult to tell apart from the Orcs other than the fact that they were black. Their bodies were larger than ordinary Orcs, but there was no guarantee that they could be distinguished based on that.

“It’s alright,” Gizania declared, as if there was nothing to be anxious about. “Vandalieu-dono, for now, hold this and come with me.”

From her pocket, she produced a necklace resembling a shiny, semi-transparent medal-like object with a glossy white thread attached to it, and then handed it to Vandalieu.

“What is this?” Vandalieu asked.

“This is a necklace, a medal made by shaving off the cast-off skin around my compound eyes with a string made of my thread,” Gizania said. “This is called a ‘necklace of deep affection,’ and it is proof that the one who possesses it is close to a member of the Arachne race, which is me in this case. I have given Basdia one as well.”

Large-build Arachne were apparently not very good at quickly using their threads in battle or for making traps, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t produce threads at all.

Come to think of it, when had Gizania given a necklace to Basdia? It seemed that the two of them had found a kindred spirit in each other, beyond ordinary friends.

“Well then, I’ll gratefully accept this,” Vandalieu thought, wearing the compound eye necklace.

And then he tried to climb on Gizania’s spider-like lower body… but was held in her arms below her chest.

“If you sit on the back, you will be hidden by my upper body,” Gizania said. “Now then, let us go. Everyone, follow after me. Just in case, Gorba-dono and your followers, please keep your weapons lowered and your monster mounts calm, approaching slowly. Borkus-dono and Bone Man-dono… please make sure you do not remove your helmets.”

There was a slight air of tension behind Gizania as she began walking.

Perhaps it was impossible to not feel tension when visiting the nation of an unknown race.

“… Could it be that Vandalieu-sama has done something again?” Eleanora wondered.

“There was the incident with Privel as well, so the possibility cannot be ruled out,” said Zadiris. “He may have accidentally performed a courting ritual or something of the sort.”

“Privel-jouchan will make a fuss, won’t she. Gizania has eight legs as well,” said Borkus.

“Not only was she making a fuss, she was increasing the number of different types of training that she’s doing,” said Kurt. “When His Majesty came back using Legion, he explained how he had saved an Arachne. It would be fine if this makes for good materials for diplomacy in the future, however.”

The four of them were whispering amongst themselves, wondering whether Vandalieu had gained yet another one.

“Really? It doesn’t seem that way to me. That’s what an older brother or sister would do to their younger brother or sister. I don’t sense any romance,” said Vigaro, whose night-life had become more active since he became an Arch-Tyrant.

Kurt cast a suspicious look in his direction, but Vigaro had more experience with the opposite sex than anyone else here. Zadiris and Eleanora looked at each other, wondering if he was right.

“Gizania has apparently never had children before. Large-builds have long lifespans, and she turned down the recommendations of her mother and older sister, saying that she was still inexperienced and wanted to improve her skill in martial arts,” said Basdia, who had become close to Gizania.

“I see, then –”

As Eleanora was about to say, “there’s nothing to worry about,” Basdia continued speaking.

“That’s why she intends to face her life choices more seriously after this incident where she nearly died. Once she has finished repaying the debt to Van,” she said.

“… Basdia, which side’s views are you supporting?” Eleanora asked.

“I think it wouldn’t be strange for things to turn out either way,” Basdia said. “After all, she actually wanted to hear what giving birth to and raising a child is like.”

The female warrior Basdia was a mother of a daughter. Her daughter Jadal was being looked after by Bilde, another mother who was Basdia’s friend, while she awaited Basdia’s return in Talosheim.

“Well, it is true that she was saved while she was in danger, so it would not be strange if things turned out that way. It seems that her lifespan is long, so a little age difference will not be a problem,” said Zadiris, who herself had been saved from danger when she first met Vandalieu.

For Gizania, Vandalieu had appeared to be a fake bait on the stomach of a centipede rather than a prince on a white horse, but… it had certainly still been an impactful encounter.

“I suppose that’s true. Now that I think about it, it’s fine either way as long as Vandalieu-sama is fine with it,” said Eleanora.

Basdia and Zadiris were Ghouls, who didn’t have the concept of marriage and even now thought of their partners as those who helped raise their children, and Eleanora thought of herself as Vandalieu’s servant.

It seemed that for them, it didn’t matter which way things turned out.

“… An Alda believer hearing this would be so enraged by this that the blood vessels in their heads would burst, wouldn’t they?” grumbled Kurt, who, as someone from a family of earls, had a firm, standard view of marriage.

“No, I’d be more worried about Kasim fainting. It’d make things quite a bit worse for him,” said Borkus.

“Everyone’s so brave,” Gorba muttered.

“I’m sure they have lions’ manes growing on their hearts,” said another Orcus.

“Is it not hair that grows on the heart?* But I suppose it would not be strange for a mane to grow on Borkus-dono’s heart,” said Bone Man.

TLN*: To “have hair growing on the heart” is an expression that means to “have nerves of steel.”

 

It seemed that the ones who were most nervous were the Orcuses and Bone Man.

With the Arachne being enemies of the Noble Orc Empire led by the usurper, Second Prince Bugitas, it was possible that Gorba and the other Orcuses would be mistaken for enemies if they weren’t careful.

And it was highly likely that Bone Man would be attacked if it was noticed that he was a Skeleton.

The Arachne adhered to the Vida religion, which accepted Undead, but that didn’t mean that they could tame them like Vandalieu. If a high-Rank Skeleton were to appear from outside the nation and approach, it was only natural that the Arachne would prioritize the defense of their nation rather than try negotiations that were extremely unlikely to succeed.

… The same should have applied for Borkus, a Zombie Epic Hero, and although he was wearing a full-face helmet, he didn’t seem particularly nervous. Had his ability to worry stopped along with his cardiopulmonary functions*?

TLN*: This one is a pun. Cardiopulmonary function is 心肺機能 and “ability to worry” is 心配機能, both are read as “shinpai kinou.”

 

Unaware of the conversations going on behind her, Gizania approached the city’s walls in a straight line.

As they approached, the walls looked to be made of heavy stone, but Vandalieu was reminded of the subtly-built stone walls of Japanese fortresses.

When he lived on Earth, he had only seen them on a screen and hadn’t thought of them as being particularly beautiful. However, seeing them again in his third life, he noticed the beauty in the plain, unrefined pattern created by joining stones of different sizes together without leaving any gaps in between.

Because Vandalieu had created Talosheim’s walls by turning them into Golems, they simply looked like single slabs of rock at a glance. Thus, they had no patterns, and that was why Vandalieu thought these walls were beautiful now.

But he also noticed something else.

“It looks like there’s no gate or any entrance at all?” he said.

It seemed that there was no door or gate that allowed entry and exit. Would they be climbing over the walls like spiders?

“Because they’re camouflaged. But it should be coming out soon,” Gizania said.

A few seconds later, a part of the wall opened from the inside without warning. Several armed Arachne, as well as a female of a race that Vandalieu had never seen before, came out from within.

“Those walls have been created by joining stones together using Arachne thread. There are peeking windows and gates of various sizes hidden within them, though they look the same as the rest of the walls,” said Gizania.

When Vandalieu looked closely, only a thin outer layer of the part of the wall that had opened up was made from stone.

There were some spiders that dug holes in the ground as nests and then covered them in lids that looked like an ordinary ground surface; perhaps this was something similar.

“Gizania-dono! You are alive!”

“It is good that you have returned; the princess has been distraught because she could not bring you back with her –”

“Wait! The fact that Gizania has returned is indeed good news, but we must first learn what the situation is!”

An Arachne considerably smaller than Gizania started running towards her, but she was stopped by four of the legs of the woman of unknown race.

Indeed, four legs.

At a glance, she seemed to be a tall human woman, but in addition to her arms and hands that had five fingers like those of humans, she also had arms with the joints covered in an exoskeleton, with scythe-like shapes at the ends of the wrists.

On top of that, she had what appeared at first glance to be a folded cloak but was actually a long pair of wings growing from her back, and her legs were those of insects from the knees down.

She looked like a combination between a praying mantis and a woman, or perhaps a personified praying mantis. Details of a race like this didn’t exist in the records of the Amid Empire or even the Orbaume Kingdom.

But Gizania had given an explanation to Vandalieu and his companions, so they were aware of what this race was.

Empusa, one of Vida’s races, which, like the Arachne, originated from a monster… and a goddess.

In the distant past, Zanal, the evil god of carapaces, and Padna, the evil god of compound eyes, left the Demon King’s army and accepted the champion Zakkart’s offer along with Fidirg, the dragon god of five sins, and Merrebeveil, the evil god of slime and tentacles.

But in the battles that followed, Zanal and Padna were attacked by the Demon King Guduranis and dealt heavy wounds that they could not recover from.

The two gods, who had originally been strongly attached to one another, overcame these heavy wounds by fusing into a single god.

After this, they became known as Zanalpadna, the evil god of carapaces and compound eyes. However, perhaps because he had originally been two separate gods, when he was requested by Vida to give birth to a new race, a pair of twins, one the founder of the Arachne and one the founder of the Empusa, were born.

Apparently, Vida and Zanalpadna had been very happy at having created two races while intending to create one.

And then the battle between Vida and Alda had taken place a hundred thousand years ago, leading to the current situation, but it was likely that no records of the Empusa race’s existence were left because all of the Empusa in the Bahn Gaia continent had been wiped out outside the Boundary Mountain Range tens of thousands of years ago, or because they had escaped to places where the eyes of the other races could not see.

Unlike Ghouls, they were not thought of as monsters. Not even Bellmond who had become a Vampire ten thousand years ago, let alone Borkus or the Divine Spear of Ice Mikhail who were adventurers two hundred years ago, knew of their existence. Only Isla, who had lived for around thirty thousand years and was currently in charge of the Knochen fortress, had remembered hearing of old tales of monsters with this description after thinking carefully.

It was likely that they had been treated as monsters like Ghouls in the past and exterminated long ago.

Upon hearing this, Gizania had shuddered at how fearsome the outside world was.

“Myuze-dono, these people are not suspicious,” Gizania said.

“It is not that I suspect them. The one you are holding, Gizania-dono, is a Dhampir, and the necklace of deep affection is hanging at his neck. And the Ghoul behind you also has the same necklace. However, I cannot allow them to pass without understanding the circumstances,” said the Empusa named Myuze, who had a sharp gaze and hair gathered into a ponytail at the top of her head. It seemed that she was the captain of the guards of this gate.

TLN: If anyone is interested, Myuze ends her sentences with “でござる/de gozaru.”

 

“Of course, we will explain the situation,” said Gizania. “There are many things that are difficult to believe, but I want you to listen until the end.”

Myuze laughed. “It has been decades since I took up this duty. There are not many things that surprise me.”

Myuze appeared to intimidating, but it seemed that she had a friendly personality. But as Gizania told her the details of the situation, her face gradually changed.

“W-what…! These circumstances! But such things are… however, insects and plants are entering and exiting the body of a Dhampir right before my eyes!”

As Myuze made all kinds of different expressions, Vandalieu was producing Pain and Eisen’s branches from his body with Insect Binding Technique and Plant Binding Technique to prove that Gizania was speaking the truth.

It seemed that the Far Worm Pain’s head and Eisen’s branches appearing between Vandalieu’s clothes with clicking and creaking sounds made it impossible for Myuze to doubt Gizania’s words.

“This child is a Spider Tamer despite not having received Zanalpadna’s divine protection?!” one of the Arachne exclaimed.

“Wait, Spider Tamer and Mantis Tamer only allow the taming of spider and praying mantis monsters! They shouldn’t allow the taming of worm-type monsters. And they wouldn’t allow tamed monsters to go in and out of the body!” another pointed out.

The Arachne were just as surprised as Myuze. Based on their words, it seemed that some insectoid monsters that were considered to be untamable like Undead outside the Boundary Mountain Range could indeed be tamed by Arachne and Empusa who had gained the divine protection of Zanalpadna and acquired specialized Jobs.

This was likely because Zanalpadna, the parent of the Arachne and Empusa, was one of the gods who had created insectoid monsters.

It seemed that the divine protections of evil gods and Jobs that could be gained as a result of the divine protections had not been investigated outside the Boundary Mountain Range. It was possible that these were simply considered to be the special abilities of monsters.

“This is… beyond my jurisdiction. I will request Her Majesty the queen to make a decision, so I would like you to wait here for a while,” said Myuze.

“Yes, I understand,” said Vandalieu.

Vandalieu and his companions had expected that they would be made to wait even if their story was believed, so they weren’t particularly discontent. They decided to wait.

A being defying all common knowledge had shown up, calling himself the king of an unknown nation and offering reinforcements. Even with Gizania here, the fact that Vandalieu’s words had been believed in the first place was a great success.

“Hmm, now then, someone report to Her Majesty the queen. Also, prepare some drinks and light snacks for our guests,” Myuze ordered.

Two of the Arachne disappeared inside the gate. It seemed that one had gone to deliver the report while the other went to prepare drinks and snacks.

“While we’re waiting, could I ask some questions?” Vandalieu asked.

“Of course, Shrine-Maiden-dono,” said Myuze.

Vandalieu felt a slightly uncomfortable sensation again, but there was something that bothered him more, so he let it go without thinking about it too deeply.

“Could it be that you’ve acquired the Ninja Job, Myuze-san?”

Myuze’s characteristic wings and sickle-arms drew attention, but what she was wearing resembled a kimono, though it was short in length. Chainmail-like underclothes (?) were visible as well, and there was a belt around her thigh holding throwing-knife-like projectile weapons.

That was why Vandalieu had thought that Myuze might be a ninja and asked her this question, but she shook her head.

“I have not. Someone as inexperienced as myself is far from a true ‘ninja,’ or even ‘nin,’” she said.

TLN: The 忍/nin kanji alone means like “endurance/patience.”

 

“Vandalieu-dono, Myuze-dono and the others are Kunoichi,” said Gizania.

It seemed that in this world’s Job system, Ninja and Kunoichi had clear differences.

According to Myuze and Gizania, the Kunoichi Job was similar to the Samurai Job; it was a Job recreated from records describing ninjas left behind by Hillwillow, the champion chosen by Botin, mother of the earth and goddess of craftsmanship.

However, according to the information regarding ninjas in the records Hillwillow had left behind, it seemed that they were even more different from real ninjas than bushis.

“It is said that true ninjas were users of all kinds of illusionary spells and special techniques known as ‘Youjutsu,’ could run on the surface of water, used Magic Items known as ‘furoshiki’ to fly through the sky and transformed into giant frogs that could swallow a human whole when surrounded by enemies. Compared to that, I am very, very…”

TLN: 妖術/Youjutsu is usually translated to something like “sorcery” or “witchcraft” but doesn’t seem to fit here. 風呂敷/Furoshiki is a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth.

 

“Like ‘Bushi,’ nobody has ever become a ‘Ninja,’” said Gizania. “It is said that Myuze-dono is the one who has come the closest to becoming a Ninja so far, but… I suppose it will be difficult without solving the mysteries behind Youjutsu and transformations into a giant frog.”

It was possible that the champion Hillwillow had intended to never tell the truth regarding bushi and ninjas right from the beginning. Perhaps he had simply loved historical plays and entertainment works involving samurai and ninja-like action heroes.

It was possible that he had written records about these because he had wanted them to be included in plays that entertained the masses once Lambda became more peaceful.

For these to be passed onto future generations as records from a foreign world… perhaps this was part of how history worked.

“… In our nation, there is a race called Black Goblins. They and the Zombie Titan that is their instructor have acquired race Titles that include ‘Ninja’ in them,” said Vandalieu, telling them about Braga and the other Black Goblin Ninjas in return for having been told about bushi and ninjas.

“Is this true, Shrine-Maiden-dono?! Do they really transform into giant frogs?!” Myuze exclaimed.

“Bushi, what about Bushi?!” shouted Gizania.

The two of them were very excited.

As they spoke, Vandalieu became aware of a noise that sounded like a rock drill chipping away at a boulder, as well as someone’s shouting voice approaching from beyond the gate.

“GIZANIA-CHAAAN!”

“Princess! Please be more quiet!”

“The princess has gone mad! Stop her! You must stop her!”

Gizania and Myuze, who had become aware of the voices a moment later than Vandalieu, looked towards the gate in surprise. Just at that moment, the princess flew out from within.

“Gizania-chan! I’m so glad!”

She was a sweet-looking princess, around twenty years of age, wearing a white dress with subtle embroidery with her pink-blonde hair in sausage-rolls that resembled drills. With eyes wet with tears, she used her legs that were white like her dress to kick against the gate powerfully, leaping at Gizania.

“Princess Kurnelia?!” Gizania exclaimed in surprise.

“Myuze, take Van and run!” shouted Basdia immediately.

“Understood!” Myuze obeyed these instructions, snatching Vandalieu from Gizania and evacuating.

And then the woman who was apparently Princess Kurnelia landed on Gizania.

Gizania caught the princess in her arms but let out a groan. That was to be expected; Princess Kurnelia was an Arachne princess with the lower body of a spider. She was considerably smaller than Gizania, but even so, she weighed easily over a hundred kilograms. With such a heavy body flying at Gizania with speed, the impact would have been similar or even greater than a wrestler hitting her in the face.

“I’m so glaaad! I thought we’d never meet again! How could a younger sister die before her onee-chan!”

“N-no, but back then, my wounds were shallow, so having me act as bait was…”

“I’m so glad you’re alive! I regretted not dragging you back with us by force so many times!”

It was a touching reunion. Though an ordinary-sized person would have had several bones broken if they had been caught up in it.

“… Onee-chan?” Vandalieu repeated.

“Oh, have you not heard? Gizania-dono is Princess Kurnelia’s younger sister,” said Myuze.

“We never heard about this. Though when I talked with her, it did seem that Gizania loved the princess like her older sister,” said Basdia, who was standing near the spot that Myuze had jumped away to.

“Indeed, it would not be strange for Gizania-dono to forget to mention it,” Myuze said, nodding. “Large-builds have longer lifespans and are more powerful than medium-builds, but because of this, their role is to protect the people of the nation, and they do not become involved in politics and religion.”

It seemed that Gizania had kept quiet about being Princess Kurnelia’s younger sister because in Zanalpadna, this was common knowledge, so it hadn’t occurred to her to mention it.

Gizania was apparently not a princess knight, but rather a princess samurai.

 

 

 

Name: Gizania Age: 35 years old Title: None Rank: 5 Race: Arachne Samurai (Large-build) Level: 87 Job: Samurai Job level: 90 Job history: Apprentice Warrior, Warrior, Swordsman Passive skills: Night Vision Superhuman Strength: Level 3 Strengthened Agility: Level 5 Strengthened Attack Power when equipped with a katana: (Large) Enhanced Physical Ability (Carapace, compound eyes, body fur): Level 3 Strengthened Attribute Values: Loyalty: Level 3

 

Active skills: Katana Technique: Level 5 Armor Technique: Level 5 Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 3 High-speed Travel: Level 3 Surpass Limits: Level 5

 

 

 

Monster explanation:

【Arachne】

The below information is the accepted opinion of the Adventurers’ Guild and Mages’ Guild outside the Boundary Mountain Range.

They are one of Vida’s races, possessing the lower bodies of spiders and upper bodies resembling those of human women.

They have similar properties to spiders, possessing deadly venom and creating traps from threads they produce from their mouths. They are a ferocious race that even eat their own kind.

When they capture humans, they simply eat them if they are women and use them to create children if male, eating them afterwards or leaving them alive for a while to feed them to the children that hatch from the eggs later.

The above misguided information was mainstream in the past, but currently, the Adventurers’ Guild and Mages’ Guild possess more accurate information. However, some isolated villages and settlements and such still have these misguided ideas regarding Arachne.

Arachne are actually divided into four different types – medium-build, small-build, large-build and aquatic – and since each type has only females with the lower bodies of spiders, they are a unisexual race, but each different type has their own different biology.

Medium-builds are the most common among Arachne; they are exceptionally strong and agile, and they are capable of building dwellings and traps from the webs produced by their lower bodies. They possess venom glands and can inject it into those they bite with their fangs, but the venom is so weak that they have almost no effect on human-sized creatures.

The proportion of medium-builds that are mages is greater than humans, but below Elves.

They have lifespans of about three hundred years. Their base Rank is 3.

Small-builds are the second-most common type. Even after becoming adults, their upper bodies have young appearances and their lower bodies remain small, resulting in them being often mistaken for medium-build or large-build children. They use their threads in more diverse ways than medium-builds, and their bodies are light. Also, they possess the most powerful venom among the Arachne; a human who does not possess the Poison Resistance skill will become immobilized if injected with this venom.

Also, there are many small-builds who learn magic, but it seems that they are only able to cast basic spells.

Many of them have cheerful personalities. Their lifespans are approximately two hundred years, and their base Rank is 2.

Large-builds are few in number, and some smaller settlements don’t have any at all. They have exceptional energy, stamina and power. However, though they are able to produce threads, they are not adept at handling them, and the venom in their venom glands has regressed so much that it has almost no effect. Also, most large-builds are not adept at using magic.

Their appearance is the most impressive among Arachne, but most large-build individuals have quiet, carefree personalities. However, there are a few exceptions to this.

They have lifespans of about five hundred years, and their base Rank is 4.

Aquatic Arachne are the type that are fewest in number, and some speculate that they have become extinct. They are the only Arachne that can build nests (houses) in and on the surface of water. They do not possess gills and rely on pulmonary respiration, but they produce air-filled pouches with their threads and place them underwater to secure air to breathe.

As sightings of aquatic Arachne are rare, precise information is not known, but it is thought that their lifespans and base Ranks are the same as medium-builds. Also, according to one theory, they are simply medium-builds that live in aquatic environments, and aquatic Arachne do not exist.

What all Arachne types have in common is that the carapace of their lower bodies is hard like armor, allowing the use of Armor Technique. In addition, there are claws growing from the tips of their legs, so they can dash up cliffs as fast as they can run across rocks and trees. When these legs are used as weapons, they receive the effects of the Unarmed Fighting Technique skill.

Also, if the tip of a leg is cut off, it returns to normal after a single molting.

Their only weakness is the spider abdomen of the lower body where the carapace is soft, but large-builds have fur that is harder than it looks protecting this area. Also, even if this area is damaged, it causes significant bleeding but will not result in a fatal wound.

Arachne molt once a year; small-builds are considered adults after molting ten times, medium-builds after fifteen and large-builds after twenty.

Because they are defenseless during and immediately after molting, Arachne do not allow anyone to be present during the process except for those they have great trust in.

They generally do not eat people or members of their race as a food source; they have a strong sense of companionship and they are highly sociable. Males they accept as spouses are viewed as companions and are treated with care.

They are an oviparous race, and when they have partners and are currently not raising any children, they lay numerous eggs at once with a frequency of about once every ten years.

When their Ranks increase, they gain race titles such as Arachne Soldier, Arachne Scout and Arachne Knight. However, legends say that some individuals that increase their Rank after fulfilling certain requirements can become a member of a different race altogether.

Chapter end