Chapter 96.5 (1/2)

This is an explanation of the races of Lambda that have made an appearance. There are some that have already been explained as monsters, but they will be explained as races of people here.

The definition of people in Lambda

These are separated into three major different ways of thinking.

First, for the G.o.ds like Alda whose objective is the annihilation of Vida's races, Alda fundamentalists and anti-Vida advocates, Vida's races are not people. Only three races, the humans, Elves and Dwarves, cla.s.sify as people. (That is why Alda said that Lambda's total population is less than 100,000,000, but in reality, including Vida's races, the population is over 100,000,000.)

Next, for Alda's peaceful faction, the neutral G.o.ds, their believers and most normal people, so to speak, in addition to the above races, Vida's races that don't have monster ancestors, such as Dark Elves, t.i.tans and Beast-people, cla.s.sify as people.

The largest number of people use this definition compared to the other two.

The last is the inclusion of races that have monster ancestors, such as Vampires.

This definition is least used. Because there are those such as Vampires who work for evil G.o.ds, very few consider all races to be people, even if they are believers of Vida.

Half-breeds

Other than half-Elves and Dhampirs, the Statuses of children born to parents of different races usually display the race of one of the parents' races.

However, in many cases, the special racial traits of the parents manifest on the body. A human man born between a human and a Dwarf would have good vision in the dark and grow a plentiful beard, possessing exceptional physical strength and an affinity for the earth and fire attributes. A t.i.tan born between an Elf and a t.i.tan would have a large body easily surpa.s.sing 2.5 meters in height, but their ears would be pointed and they would possess the qualities for spiritual magic from birth. There are other similar examples.

Although these aren't reflected in skills or Attribute Values, sometimes there are cases where scales grow on the body or feathers grow on the arms.

Lifespans can differ on a case-by-case basis, but they can be roughly estimated by averaging the expected lifespans of the parents.

Also, there are cases where children born to parents of the same race are born with special characteristics of other races, or even born as an individual of a different race altogether. In the past, the mother's faithfulness was questioned in such cases, or sometimes this was called the prank or even a blessing of a G.o.d, but this is now known to be a result of atavism.

The above examples do not include half-breeds with monsters such as Goblins and Orcs.

Humans

The equivalent of humans on Earth or in Origin.

They have the lowest base Attribute Values among any race, but at the same time, they are the race that is thriving the most. The reason for that is said to be that the extent of their freedom is great; there are no Jobs that are suited or ill-suited for humans as a race.

There are all kinds of humans; there are some with low apt.i.tude with magic while others have great apt.i.tude for magic; there are some with affinity for only one attribute while others have an affinity for all attributes (with the exception of the death attribute).

As if to demonstrate the humans' extent of freedom, if one separates heroes that appear in legends and myths by race, there are more human heroes than heroes of the other races. But on the other hand, there are many ordinary people who would struggle to fight a single Goblin.

Their life expectancy is around fifty to sixty years, but because infants of breast-feeding age often die of disease and such, once humans safely pa.s.s that age, they can even live for over eighty years.

Also, those who have experienced multiple Jobs and increased their Attribute Values age slower; there were some human adventurers in the past who actively worked for over a hundred years.

In many nations, humans are treated as adults starting from the age of fifteen.

There are no sub-races, but there are ethnicities with white, yellow or black skin color.

Humans can generally create offspring with almost any other race.

Elves

The race born between s.h.i.+zarion, the G.o.d of wind and art, and Peria, the G.o.ddess of water and knowledge. They are known to have long, pointed ears and exceptional physical appearances.

As their ancestral roots lie in s.h.i.+zarion and Peria, they have great Agility and Intelligence, but they are often physically weaker than humans.

There are many Elves who possess an affinity for the wind and water elements from birth, and few possess an affinity for the attributes that are poorly compatible with these attributes, the earth and fire attributes.

They possess the Dark Vision skill from birth. Also, though this does not apply for all Elves, many acquire the Spiritual Magic skill, so they are sometimes called the friends of the spirits.

Their lifespans are as long as five hundred years; they age at the same pace as humans until their teenage years, and after that, they grow into adults at a rate of one physical year of age every several human years. When they are treated as adults varies based on the nation and clan, but they are generally regarded as adults from around fifty to sixty years of age. In cases where they are raised in human cities, they are treated as adults from age fifteen despite looking very young.

Sometimes Elf children are seen in towns giving orders to adults in a self-important manner, but they are simply Elves in their thirties giving orders to newcomers who are over a decade younger than them.

Because they have long lifespans, their sense of time is looser than that of humans; they are often gentle in nature. There are also more than a few who use their long lifespans to earn Experience Points over a long period of time to reach B-cla.s.s or cla.s.s… if they survive that long.

As adventurers, they are suited to being mages or using their speed to be lightly-equipped warriors or scouts.

As civilians, many Elves are artists or scholars.

In the past, there were large-scale villages of tens of thousands of Elves, though they were very different from human nations.

Elf villages are mostly located in forests or on lakes, and there are even nomadic tribes that build fleets of s.h.i.+ps and sail as they live their lives.

The fact that they are vegetarians and do not eat meat is a mere rumor; they treat both meat and vegetables as blessings of nature and eat both equally.

When living in human nations, they are almost never in positions where they need to succeed n.o.ble families and such. Even those with occupations often retire after working for a few decades. Because their lifespans are long, even if they are n.o.blemen, the nations that they live in will either be destroyed before their own lives end, divide into multiple nations or be merged with other nations, so there is no stability. Also, the Elves have historically learned that if they maintain their social statuses for too long, dissatisfaction grows in those of races with shorter lifespans.

Some Elves are disgusted by Dark Elves, treating them as corrupted Elves, but there is a myth telling of how after s.h.i.+zarion was destroyed and Peria entered a slumber, Vida protected the ancestors of the Elves. Thus, there are also Elves with a deep belief in Vida, and those Elves are friendly towards Vida's races, especially the Dark Elves, whom they welcome as brothers and sisters who have received the G.o.ddess's blessings.

There is no consistent philosophy of love among the Elf race; there is a wide variety of Elves, ranging from those who are sociable and court members of the opposite s.e.x even after only meeting them once, to others who thoroughly get to know potential partners before making a decision. It is said that this is because Elves either inherit the nature of s.h.i.+zarion, who had many romantic interests, or that of Peria, who was more discreet.

Also, it seems that many Elves believe that finding each person's different beauty and charm regardless of their appearance is a part of love… though this is likely not insignificantly due to the fact that all Elves have beautiful appearances.

But Elves often become deeply attached to the partners that they have decided upon. A certain human mage left behind the words, “If an Elf truly falls in love with you, you will be dragged around for your whole life, so give up on them.”

Also, Dwarves are the only race that Elves cannot directly create offspring with. Due to this, the racial relations between Elves and Dwarves once became complicated.

Perhaps because of that incident, there are quite a number of Elves who enjoy playing with fire by having relations with Dwarves.

Dwarves

A race with ancestral roots in Zantark, the G.o.d of fire and destruction, and Botin, mother of the earth and G.o.ddess of craftsmans.h.i.+p. Even after reaching adulthood, their height only reaches the chests of humans. Dwarf men are known for growing plentiful beards once they become adults, while women maintain the appearances of young girls despite being adults (with large individual differences in figures).

Perhaps because their ancestral roots lie in Zantark and Botin, while they have exceptional Strength, Stamina and Vitality, their Agility and Intelligence are a little lower than that of humans.

Many Dwarves have an affinity for the fire and earth attributes, but there are few who possess an affinity for the opposite attributes, the wind and water attributes.

Also, Dwarves possess the Dark Vision skill from birth.

Their lifespans are around two hundred years. They develop at the same pace as humans, and once they reach the adult age of fifteen, their aging becomes very slow. They remain healthy until the age of one hundred and eighty, but after that, they often age rapidly.

They have longer lifespans than humans, but they are often picky about time and stubborn in personality. But they are not short-tempered; they enjoy training or raising things to the point that they make these their life goals. Also, they are a race that enjoys alcohol more than relations between men and women, to the point that it is often said that if one wants to marry a Dwarf girl, they should send alcohol to her father or defeat him in a drinking contest.

As adventurers, they are suited to being s.h.i.+eld-bearers and frontline fighters, and not suited to being mages or scouts. Also, many Dwarves are religious, so there are cases where they become priests.

As civilians, they are often blacksmiths, stonemasons, potters, leatherworkers, arms smiths or chefs, and there are many who set their sights on farming as well. It is often said that when choosing a craftsman, an Elf craftsman would be best for aesthetics, while a Dwarf craftsman would be best for performance.

Although society praises the skill of some of these craftsmen, there are almost none who become n.o.blemen and such. Other than cases where a Dwarf accepts a court rank in order to protect the rights and homes of his brethren, most of them are honorary n.o.blemen, n.o.bles in name only.

Other than the Workers' Guild, most Guild branches have at least one Dwarf among the medium to high-ranking leaders.

There are no races that the Dwarves consider enemies, and although they frequently quarrel with Elves due to their differing views, they do not hate them.

They do not hold anything against Vida's races, either. However, they laugh off the fact that Dwarves were the only race that Vida did not mate with to create a new race, saying that the Dwarven men of the past must have drank her under the table. They warn young Dwarf boys, saying that they should learn from their ancestors' example and not become the kind of men who would a.s.sault drunken women.

… However, it seems that they do not mind vigorously deepening their bonds with moderately drunk members of the opposite s.e.x who have not pa.s.sed out.

The Dwarves' perception of love is such that the men are not domineering husbands that demand that their wives follow their requests, but husbands who want their wives to keep them under control. This is thought to be the influence of Zantark's words of, “Men should fight and work outside while their wives protect the homes.”

This is why Dwarf men like strong-minded, firm women. Also, it seems that they find voluptuous women more charming than dainty ones.

Dwarf women think of men as one of the raw materials that they need to temper; it seems that they are attracted to men who they feel are worth the effort of strengthening. Thus, although Dwarf couples do quarrel, this is often a whip of love from the wife.

Also, an important feature that all Dwarf men should have to charm Dwarf women is their beards.

However, more recently, there are many among the youngest generation of Dwarves that do not fall under the above descriptions. There is an emotional play about a Dwarf woman reforming a hopeless human man who was loved by everyone. This play was actually the story of the beginning of the romance between the playwright's parents.

Dark Elves

A race born between Vida, the G.o.ddess of life and love, and a young Elf who was serving her.

Their appearance is exactly the same as that of Elves other than their dark skin; they are sometimes referred to as “suntanned Elves.” Also, old books say that Dark Elves have more sensual figures than Elves due to being descendants of a G.o.ddess who also rules over abundance and prosperity. However, in later years, the 'Extraordinary and Odd' Dario Dan, who was renowned as both a mage and as an artist, gathered a thousand Elves and a thousand Dark Elves to cooperate in an investigation, through which he determined that this rumor is not true.

Like Elves, Dark Elves possess the qualities for using magic, but they also possess exceptional physical qualities such as Vitality and Strength. In other words, they have high overall Attribute Values; there are no areas in which they are inferior to humans.

They can possess an affinity for any attribute, and like Elves, there are many who awaken to Spiritual Magic.

They possess the Dark Vision and Magic Resistance skills from birth.

They have long lifespans of a thousand years. Excluding the Vampires, who do not age at all, Dark Elves have the longest lifespan as a race. (There are some among the Drakonids and Majin) who live longer than a thousand years, but they do not have longer average lifespans as a race; there are just large individual differences.)

Dark Elves age at the same pace as humans up to their teenage years, and after that, they age at a rate of one physical year of age every several human years, and at a certain stage, their growth (aging) stops. There are individual differences in when this period occurs; it can occur as early as the mid-teenage years or as late as the early thirties.

But unlike Elves, once their growth stops, they maintain this appearance for the rest of their lives, so it is possible for elderly individuals who have lived for nine hundred years to have the appearance of boys or girls in their mid-teenage years.

The mental ages of Dark Elves are strongly influenced by how old they appear to be. Perhaps due to this, they do not have a custom of respecting their elders unconditionally. They will always be treated as immature until they develop appropriate knowledge, skills and personalities.

But many Dark Elves respect those who show themselves to be mature, so they are also a race that is easy to get along with.

Because they have longer lifespans than Elves, many Dark Elves have somewhat carefree personalities. Some live as adventurers or as civilians, but with their sense of time, they consider these things to be “training,” “studying abroad” or “a bit of a long journey.” There are almost none who intend to spend their entire lives in human society… because most nations are likely to be destroyed or divide before they reach the ends of their lifespans.

But there are no Jobs as adventurers that they are particularly suited for, and they can use their long lifespans to learn all kinds of occupations as civilians.

Historically, Dark Elves have kept their distance except from Elves who believe in Vida, but they are not hostile as a race. However, many Dark Elves hate the very sight of priests of Alda.

Dark Elves' perception of marriage is peculiar and quite uninhibited. Because they have long lifespans, so even if they swear to love each other for eternity, arguments and affairs can happen if they spend hundreds of years together, so most Dark Elves make an oath to give each other “one hundred years of love.” If they wish to remain a couple after those one hundred years pa.s.s, they repeat their oath for another hundred years in front of a statue of the G.o.ddess. Repeating this practice is marriage for the Dark Elves.

If they have changed their minds, they can simply divorce on the spot, so it is said that Dark Elves are the race that spills the least blood over romantic complications.

t.i.tans

The race born between Vida, the G.o.ddess of life and love, and the Sun Giant Talos, who served the Colossus G.o.d Zerno. They were the first race to be created by Vida.