Karg D. Verand

Gāgu D. Vuerando (ガーグ・D・ヴェランド) is a character from the spin-off "Arifureta Shokugyō de Sekai Saikyō Zero" series.

He is the head craftsman for the Orcus Workshop in the Kingdom of Velka, as well as Oscar's adopted father.

Appearance
Karg has a massive build, as well as his entire body covered in thick hair. Karg laters losses one of his eyes as a result of being tortured by the Holy Church's inquistors.

Personality
Karg is stern and blunt. He does not tolerate any nonsense at his workshop and expects the best from the craftsmen that work for him. Deep down, however, Karg is very kind and does what he can to help those that he cares about.

He prides himself on being a craftsman as dedicates himself to using his skills o serve the commonfolk.

Biography
Karg worked as a craftsman for the Orcus Workshop in the Kingdom of Velka. His skills as a Synergist eventually lead him to take over the shop, as well as earning him the last name "Orcus", as per its tradition. Karg would often give money to his old friend Moorin in order to support her orphanage, as well as visit her on occasion. During one of his visits, he saw that the orphanage had a lot of new toys. He asked Moorin if they were from a new sponsor, but she claimed that they were all crafted by one of the orphans named Oscar. Impressed with their quality, Karg met Oscar and asked how he managed to create those toys so fast. Oscar explained that he first attempted to transmute after witnessing Karg do it to repair a broken plate during his previous visit one month prior, and it had just been natural for him ever since. Karg was stunned with how quickly Oscar managed to master the art of transmutation and immediately decided to take him as his apprentice. After tutoring him personally for three years, Karg admitted him into the Orcus Workshop.

"Zero" Timeline
In Volume 1, when Oscar was being ridiculed by another craftsman named Ping Waress, as well as having to his workload in addition to his own, Karg intervened by claiming that the workmanship on Oscar's pieces was excellent, despite them only being common items. Karg then sternly ordered Ping to get back to work then invited Oscar into his office. Once in Karg's office, he asked Oscar him why he didn't show his true talents as a craftsman. He felt that Oscar was far more talented than him at this point and did not feel that he deserved to be treated much better than he was. Oscar happily claimed that despite the ridicule he frequently faced, he liked his job and the type of items that he crafted. Just as Karg was about to claim that Oscar had already surpassed him as a craftsman, Oscar stopped and told in a most serious tone that his skills were so impressive that they were considered abnormal, much to Karg's surprise. Oscar then reaffirmed that he liked his job and would continue working for him, to which Karg begrudgingly accepted. Oscar then headed out to deliver some of his work orders, to which Karg told him to take the rest of the day off in order to check up on his old orphanage due to the reports that children mysteriously disappearing. After Oscar left to deliver his orders, Karg spoke to himself about how Oscar should do something that he actually likes, rather than pretending to be smiling all the time.

When Oscar confronted the Holy Church after they had kidnapped the children from his old orphanage, he decided to leave Velka in order to keep the people that he cared about out of any danger that he may face as a result. He visited the Orcus Workshop once more to deliver his farewell letter to Karg before the store opened. To his surprise, however, Karg and the other craftsmen were waiting for him when he arrived. As they said their goodbyes to each other, Karg asked Oscar to honor his last request and accept the "Orcus" name for himself, to which Oscar happily agreed to.

After Oscar left Velka and became a heretic of the church, Karg was ordered by Velka's king to renouce the Orcus name. As a result, Karg went back to his original last name "Verand" and also changed the Orcus Workshop's name to his new name. He was once asked to join the group Oscar was now affiliated with, the Liberators, by their messenger Tim Rocket, but he turned them down. At some point, he was harshly questioned by members of the church's inquisition for any information on Oscar and the Liberators. In the end, he couldn't provide them with any useful information and managed to prove that he wasn't a heretic thanks to his blunt attitude, but he was still tortured by them, and had even lost one of his eyes before he was released.

In Volume 5, one day when Karg was heading to his office, he was suddenly visited by Oscar upon entering the room, much to his shock. Oscar had soundproofed the room so no one could hear them, but still warned him to keep his voice down. After a heartwarming greeting beween the two of them, Oscar used his "Treasure Trove" Artifact to bring out some tea for them to enjoy. As they continued to chat, Oscar epressed his guilt over the hardships Karg endured because of him (particularly the loss of his eye). Karg, however, told him not to worry and that he was prepared for what would happen to him after giving Oscar the Orcus name. They then talked about how the Liberators had continued to watch out for Karg and sent him letters of how Oscar and the others were doing, in spite of the risk. They then talked about how the Liberators' actions have shaken up the rest of they world and their general plans for the future before Oscar departed through his teleportation Artifact "Dark Gate". As Oscar was about to leave, he made one final declaration about changing the world, to which Karg expressed how proud he was of his adopted son. Once Oscar left, Karg leaned back against the back of his sofa and looked up at the ceiling while continuing to praise Oscar.

Soon after Karg's reunion with Oscar, he was apprehended by the Holy's Church's paladins, along with many of the Liberators' allies, and was set to be publicly executed in one month. This was set up as a way to draw out the Liberators. Before he was captured, Karg left a message at his now abandoned workshop that told Oscar that he didn't want Oscar to put his mission at risk by attempting to resuce him.

One the day of his execution, Karg was among the first of the church's prisoners dragged out in the square of the Elbard Theocracy's, along with Baharl Devault and Rigan Nelson. As the church's archbishop Kimaris Simtail was setting the stage to have them killed, while preaching to the church's god Ehit, Karg and the others instead expressed theie contempt in such a causl manner, despite the situtation they were all facing. As Kimaris was about to kill Karg and the others, he stopped when the Liberators suddenly launched their attack against the church.

Relationship

 * Oscar Orcus - His adopted son. He sees how talented the boy is and wishes to train him as a craftsman. While he is stern with him a lot, he cares greatly for him and thinks of him as his own son.
 * Moorin - Karg is good friends with Moorin. He helps support her orphanage financially, as well as visit it to check up on her.
 * Ping Waress - Karg does not like Ping and only hires him as a craftsman in order to avoid the hassle of having to deal with Ping's influential family.

Skills

 * Transmute - The base skill of the "Synergist" Job class. It allows the user to control, transform and manipulate any kind of ores, minerals or materials in any way or shape the user desires.

Quotes

 * (To Oscar): "Rather than trying to show off your own skill, you crafted this clasp to perfectly suit the needs of its wielder. It may look plain, but it’s clearly a first-rate clasp."
 * (To Oscar): "We’re the only ones in here, so spare me the niceties. And wipe that moronic smile off your face. It disgusts me."
 * (To Oscar): "I remember you saying before that you’d only cause trouble if you stayed at the workshop. I also distinctly remember telling you to stay anyway. I didn’t work so hard to keep you here so you could spend your time doing that viscount’s idiot son’s work for him."
 * (To Oscar): "You’re already a better craftsman than me. Hell, you left me in the dust years ago. Your skills are on a completely different level."
 * (To Oscar): "Us craftsmen are a stubborn, peculiar lot. Sure, we get jealous of each other’s skills and are always trying to one-up each other, but any craftsman worth his salt also knows shame, boy. None of them will ever be the next Orcus, and not just cause I won’t give them the title. They all know you deserve it, and they’d be ashamed to take it from you."
 * (To Oscar): "I won’t forgive you if you waver because of this, kid!"

Trivia

 * Karg is based on the Roman god of the underworld "", who was depicted as a hairy, bearded giant.