To make these bandit shadow shapeshifters more empowered, Rino decided to name all nine of them. However, he wasn't going to put in the effort to name these undeserving bastards. If anything, he would give them sloppy names like criminals who were assigned numbers for easy identification. Except, it was easier to pretend that he thought about those names if he assigned them numbers using the language of giants from his previous world. Rino hoped the language of giants did not exist here because he wouldn't sound too original if it did.

"You are Een," he told the leader of the bandits.

The Dullamen evolved after receiving a name and was now less human-like. Rino recognised this large hooded shadow shape. It looked like him without bones, and honestly, he had no idea if he should be happy that grim reapers were now working in the tannery.

The next few bandits were named in order - Twee, Drie, Vier, Vijf, Zes, Zeven, Acht and Negen. Nobody complained as everyone evolved into a new type of spectre. Rino briefly wondered if the birth of grim reapers came from decapitated farmers after seeing nine hooded spectres in the vault.

With their evolved intelligence, the shapeshifting spectres could now participate in a conversation, thanking their new lord for the names. Rino dismissed it and demanded to know if there were any interesting civilisation or structures in this area that he would build his town.

As expected of the bandits, they told him about the rocky mountains and what lay beyond. Rino listened with interest at how they referred to the jungle he came from as the Woods of No Return. It was a place nobody dared to explore for good reasons. No survivors made it out of there.

Also, the sea that lay beyond the rocky mountain range was at least fifty kilometres, a little closer than what Rino was expecting. However, there were no fields from the rocky mountains to the sea. Everything was sandy beaches, and depending on the time of the year, the seawater could reach the southern ranges of the rocky mountains.

"Thus, humans have relocated several times, and their latest settlement is up ahead, closer inland where the waters will not destroy their homes."

Hearing that there was a human village on the beach, Rino demanded to know the exact location. He wasn't very surprised to learn that the human village was a regular victim of these bandits while they were alive. Nine bandits could terrorise a village of forty people, and according to his new subordinates, the villagers did not know how to farm.

"They often head to sea to catch fish or spend time climbing trees for tropical fruits. Sometimes, they rear animals that wander from the rocky mountains to raise for slaughter."

Shepherds! Or animal farmers… either way, they were the experts Rino needed.

Acht looked slightly uncomfortable when he sensed Rino's thrill. His shadow wavered a little as he glanced at his brothers in death.

"M-my lord?"

Rino extracted himself from his daydream and nodded. Acht was an interesting bandit. He had non-existent balls compared to the other ex-bandits. Maybe Rino would put him in charge of coordinating the tannery instead of the bandit leader.

Fidgeting in a way that only a spectre could, Acht informed Rino that the village was currently undergoing a calamity that the lich should avoid.

"Calamity?"

Acht nodded. "There is a plague spreading. The last time we went to collect our dues, half their population were infected and bedridden. Without the medical help of the travelling witch doctor, they will not survive. The travelling witch doctor will only arrive in two more moon cycles. They won't survive."

Plague? Intrigued, Rino asked for details.

The plague's symptoms were nothing like Rino knew about in the previous world. People simply acted like zombies, forgetting how to eat, move and feel. They had all their intelligence and basic human functions removed, making them living shells awaiting death.

"Does it only affect the grown-up?" Rino asked after hearing how the plague only affected certain villagers. 

Acht shook his head. It was hard to explain, but the easiest way to describe the plague's victims were wisened.

"It targeted the villagers who were smarter than others or lived longer than others. Villagers who travelled out of the village more often to sea or for foraging were targeted more than those who remained only in the village."

As such, children were mostly unaffected. However, with the adults acting like living zombies, Rino had a feeling the village would perish without the children knowing better how to survive.

Was that what happened to Fronzo and that village? Hearing that there was something big going on in this world, Rino started to find pieces of a huge puzzle, inciting his desire to know more.

The kingdom building project, the gods' desire for repopulation, the legend of bringing the dead back and a king to unite civilisations tied in with the story of a mysterious plague. Was this an apocalyptic world that Rino was transported into?

Somehow, he wasn't surprised. If anything, he was curious to know if he could stop the apocalypse from wiping the rest of humanity out before everyone turned into an undead.

Then again, turning everyone into an undead might be the ultimate goal of the gods, even if Rino had no clue if the undead could repopulate this planet. He wasn't willing to consider that possibility. Rino disliked brats. He disliked clingy women who demanded his attention away from his research more.

From how Acht described the plague, it only targeted those who were more intelligent. If the cycle continues, the amount of knowledge amassed by humans will be erased over generations, with their offsprings none the wiser about what was created before them. No wonder the world was so behind on technology.

Rino was finally starting to see parts of this giant puzzle coming together. He had a village of humans to visit and, hopefully, add to his undead town's population.