Chapter 1, Part 1

Old Original Characters appearing in this part:

Kegor Elan Bosk – Windflower Scripture’s new captain, he was introduced in Volume 13
Berta – an assassin and a member of the Windflower Scripture, she was introduced in Volume 13

***

In a town on the border of the City-State Alliance and the Baharuth Empire

A man and a woman were slowly moving down a street, seemingly on a date. The man held flowers in his hand, as the two of them conversed. However, reality proved to be less romantic, the two were members of the Windflower Scripture and were currently on a mission. Kegor Elan Bosk, the captain of the Windflower Scripture frowned.

“I don’t see anyone. Are they already waiting for us?” He asked a woman that walked beside him.

“They are too cautious to meet us like that. I am sure they are tailing us, to make sure it’s just the two of us,” Berta replied.

” I guess dealing with other assassins puts me on edge. Plus, I feel stupid because of this thing,” he waved a bouquet of red roses he held in his hand. “Seriously, why do I need to carry an identification item if they are following us anyway?”

“Does the idea of going on a date with me upsets you so much?” Berta laughed. “Here, let me give you a hug.”

She stepped in front of the startled Kegor and hugged him. However, a closer look would reveal that she wasn’t enjoying the hug, but rather scanning the people behind them. A few moments later she released her superior and the two continued to walk.

“Didn’t see anyone suspicious. Could they be observing us from afar?” Berta asked.

“Who knows, they are just as skilled as we are and they know this place. Guess we’ll just have to bear with it,” Kegor said.

The two went through several streets, eventually turning to a narrow street which soon cam to a dead end. The two of them looked around, but there was no one following them.

“I guess we got here first after all. And now we have to wait for them,” he couldn’t hide his annoyance.

Minutes passed, and Kegor became more and more annoyed. There were several reasons for his anger — the very fact he had to contact Ijaniya made it look like the Theocracy’s leadership didn’t see the Windflower Scripture as capable enough. Then the mission itself was dangerous. And now, he felt like the members of Jianiya were showing off in front of him. However, before his anger could reach a boiling point, several figures emerged from the nearby walls, seemingly out of the shadows.

“For a high-class assassin you seem to lack patience,” one of them scolded him in lieu of a greeting.

“Being on time is also important to an assassin,” Kegor smirked.

“We were here on time, you just couldn’t see us,” the figure chuckled. “Anyway, she will see you now,” she pointed at a door some distance away from where Kegor stood.

“Alone. Your companion will remain here,” she added after Berta tried to follow Kegor.

Berta and Kegor exchanged glances. He has just about reached his limit, but blowing up wouldn’t accomplish anything. He wasn’t going to fight the other side, and refusing to meet because he was angry would be counter productive — he was the one seeking this meeting.

“It’s fine, I’ll meet with her alone,” he told Berta.

He also made a sign that she should be careful. While it was unlikely that any funny business would happen here, the Heiress of Ijaniya had a certain reputation. It wouldn’t be the first time she killed a would-be client for trying to play tricks with her, instead of being honest about the job. He sighed, and pushed the door open, entering the building.

On the ninth floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick

Ainz was seated in front of a desk in his room, looking through a report. If his skinless skull could have facial expressions he would be frowning.

Looks like the idea that the summoned goblins could gain levels didn’t pan out, he concluded with a sigh and set the document aside. As a player whose strongest point was utilizing information, Ainz was well aware of how difficult it could be to fight against an opponent whose abilities you didn’t understand. On the flip side, if he could find new abilities, unique to the New World, then he would hold an advantage over other players. And while he hadn’t met any players yet, and was almost certain that no other players were present in the nearby countries, the shockwave generated by the inevitable demise of the Theocracy’s ill-fated attack would put the Sorcerer Kingdom in the spotlight. Even more so than it has already been.

Ainz picked up a pen and used it to cross out a line that read “summoned goblins gaining exp,” on a sheet of paper. This sheet was divided into four squares — “working,” “failed,” “currently testing” and “to be tested.” After crossing out the line about goblins in the “currently testing” square, he wrote it in the “failed” area. It could be said that he was doing the work twice, but Ainz wanted to be thorough. He had learned from the mistake of trying to keep everything in his head. The Orb of Death, which he picked up all those years back from his encounter with Zuranon, had completely slipped his mind. If it wasn’t for his excursion into the Draconic Kingdom, the Orb would still be in Hamsuke’s mouth. And while discovering the Orb’s effects was not world-breaking, Ainz wanted to make sure he wouldn’t miss something that was.

He had been in this world for several years and had encountered many things. As such, it actually took a while to root through his mind and dig up every little thing which could end up important. The result was that the piece of paper in front of him contained many entries. Although the quadrant marked as “working,” only had a few lines written down. Not surprisingly the first line in it was about Ainz summons being permanent when a dead body was used for the spell. Being able to summon permanent undead was huge. Even if he lacked appropriate corpses to sustain high-level summons, having thousands of Death Knights offered an enormous benefit.

Ainz’s bony finger pointed at the paper, and he moved it to the top entry in the “to be tested” square. He tapped that line a few times absentmindedly. He had discovered the shocking truth about this super tier spell back when he used the [Shooting Star] ring to cast it on mind-controlled Shalltear. Unlike how it worked in Yggdrasil, where a caster would be given a random wish out of some two hundred possibilities, in the New World the spell actually granted its caster’s wish. Any wish! Though, some wishes required one to spend 500% experience rather than the usual amount.

Although Ainz had a total of five charges between the two [Shooting Star] rings in his possession, and he could also use the super tier spell in conjunction with the [Avarice and Generosity] World Class Item, so that the spell would consume the experience stored in the gloves, instead of his own. He was still a bit hesitant to begin experimenting with this spell.

While it probably couldn’t produce world-altering results, as that was the domain of World Items, wishes that only affected one person or a small area shouldn’t be an issue. Ainz smirked as he thought about how absurdly game-breaking such an item would be. In Yggdrasil, it was the shitty devs’ job to make sure things were somewhat balanced. But there is no one to preserve such a balanced design in this world.

Frankly speaking, the potential loopholes which may or may not work were mind-boggling. Can I wish for the [Shooting Star] ring to have more or unlimited wishes? Can I wish for more rings? Can I wish for the [Wish Upon a Star] spell to not consume any experience? Even if such blatant loopholes to get more wishes wouldn’t work, there was still plenty of absurd things I might be able to do. How about wishing for my high-tier summons to be permanent regardless of what corpses are used during the summoning process? Can I use it to learn Martial Arts? Or Wild Magic? Ainz felt like a little kid about to unwrap a present.

I know that I could wish to steal Nfirea’s talent. Can I steal more than one? Talents are unique to this world, so there should be no safeguards against this possibility as a leftover legacy of Yggdrasil balance. Just this ability alone puts this on a level of a World Class Item. I must make sure to research this, once the conflict with the Theocracy is resolved. Ainz nodded as he reached this point. His eyes then wandered to the top entry in “Currently Testing.”

A knock on the door interrupted him. Cixous, the maid assigned to him for the day, got up from her seat and answered the door. A moment later she informed Ainz that Albedo wished to see him.

“Ah, yes, let her in,” Ainz said.

He looked at the decorated clock on his desk – a figure of a skeletal mage stood in front of the clock’s face, blocking some of it. While such a design made it somewhat impractical as a clock, it was an item Ainz received upon unlocking the [Goal of all Life is Death] ability, and so it held sentimental value to him. It reminded him of those times when Ainz Ooal Gown was filled with vitality, of the excitement he experienced as he told his guildmates about his new ability.

Ainz shook his head and got up – now was not the time to feel sentimental. He welcomed Albedo, who, after greeting him, informed him that the guardians were ready.

“Let’s go then,” Ainz said. He cast [Gate] and followed Albedo through the portal which sprung into existence. Afterward, he found himself in front of the throne room, with all of the guardians kneeling. Ainz greeted them and thanked them for coming, as he made his way to the throne. Once he was seated, and the others assumed their usual positions, Ainz began.

“I called upon all of you today to discuss the matters of the Slane Theocracy and to issue a new directive,” Ainz began. “As you know, using my death against Jaldabaoth, we were able to successfully bait the Theocracy into taking a hostile action against the Sorcerer Kingdom. Not only that, they were nice enough to put together an alliance, saving us the trouble of hunting down all those groups and individuals that would oppose me.”

“As expected of Ainz-sama,” Shalltear smiled.

“Once the Theocracy’s forces are gathered, I’ll use Momon to transport them to Nazarick, where we will capture them. We will use this attack as a pretext to eliminate the top brass of the Theocracy and to take over their country. Demiurge, I understand your plan to take over the Re-Estize Kingdom will be completed at that point as well?” Ainz turned to ask the demon.

“Yes, Ainz-sama. Once those fools attack Nazarick, the last part of the scheme Albedo and I came up with will be set in motion,” Demiurge nodded.

“And so, we’ll be able to take over two nations in short order. While also flushing out many who oppose the Sorcerer Kingdom. That’s the good news,” Ainz said.

He looked around the room before continuing.

“However, this move poses a certain risk. After these two nations fall, practically all of the human nations will be under the Sorcerer Kingdom’s control,” Ainz sighed before continuing. “I’ve mentioned this before, but most players would side with the humans. If we look at the actions of the players from the past, they were either friendly and helped humans or at the very least stayed neutral. While the chances of any players present in the nearby countries are slim, it’s hard to say there aren’t any in this world, or that there won’t be any in the future. As such, we must be very cautious that our actions are not seen as aggressive, and that we have a strong casus belli when we retaliate.”

“That shouldn’t be an issue. Since Ainz-sama was the one who came up with this plan to lure the Slane Theocracy into attacking Nazarick, there could be no errors,” Demiurge said, his voice full of conviction.

Ainz sighed as he saw Albedo nod, while the other guardians expressed similar signs of agreement.

“Demiurge, I have already told you that everyone makes mistakes, even I. Which brings me to the new directive I am issuing for all of you. I want all of you to look for ways to strengthen Nazarick!” Ainz declared. “Whether players who are already here, or those who will come in the future, or even beings which are native to this world, I want Nazarick to become strong enough where we will be victorious no matter who chooses to fight us. And the way to obtain such power is by finding things that can be done in this world, which could not be done in Yggdrasil – like my undead summons being permanent when used with an actual corpse.”

“Isn’t. This. What. Demiurge. Is. Doing?” Cocytus asked.

“Indeed. Demiurge had been conducting various experiments ever since we came to this world. However, my recent experience in the Draconic Kingdom made me realize something. Sometimes, the only way to discover something is through sheer luck. You all have different personalities and experiences and go about solving your problems in different ways. I believe that it will be more productive to have all of you focused on searching for ways to make Nazarick stronger,” Ainz explained.

After seeing understanding dawn on the guardians, he continued.

“For example, as most of you know, my excursion to the Draconic Kingdom resulted in the acquisition of two Orbs of Death – sentient items which can absorb negative energy and then use it to heal undead. I can charge them using my [Negative Energy Touch] and then use them to heal myself for, basically, free. While not too powerful, they are quite useful,” Ainz said. “Demiurge, what about your progress?”

Demiurge bowed to Ainz, before turning to face the other guardians.

“I have been experimenting with the scroll parchments for a while. I am happy to announce that with the parchment made from the skin of the two minotaurs Ainz-sama had captured, we can create scrolls capable of containing spells of a fifth tier while using the skin of the Elf King results in a scroll that can hold a tier seven spell. Unfortunately, the amount of skin we can harvest from them is quite small. But it does validate my theory. If we can acquire more powerful beings, we should be able to produce higher level scrolls,” Demiurge said.

“And what about your um, breeding experiments?” Ainz asked.

“That is a more long-term project. Going by what we learned from the Elf King, powerful parents produce powerful offspring. Unfortunately, we currently lack powerful females to test this theory,” Demiurge replied with an apologetic smile.

“I see. I am sure there will be some powerful females amongst the Theocracy’s strike force. You can use them in your experiments, once we capture them,” Ainz said. “Then, has anyone else found anything that we could use to increase Nazarick’s power?”

The room fell silent as the guardians cast gazes at each other.

“I. Have. Something.” Cocytus began after no one else spoke. “As. You. Know. I. Am. In. Charge. Of. Training. The. Lizardmen. We. Have. Discovered. That. The. Natives. Of. This. World. Can. Gain. Experience. And. Levels. Through. Practice. Alone. Without. Killing. Anything.”

“Ho-hold on, does it mean tha… that as long as they p-practice against a cha-challenging opponent they c-can level up?” Mare asked, apparently reverting back to his natural, panicky voice.

“Yes. But. They. Are. Limited.” Cocytus said. “Race. And. Talent. Determine. Level. Cap.”

“Then, isn’t it a waste? The level cap for the humans seems to be around level thirty,” Aura said.

“Not necessarily. If you combine this fact with Demiurge’s theory on stronger parents having stronger children, then we might be able to push the level cap through selective breeding,” Albedo said.

“That is to say, even if today humans max out at level thirty, future generations might have a higher maximum. That is a pretty sound theory, based on what we know about God-kins and the Elf King’s attempts,” Ainz said.

Hm, while this is a long-term project, it could bear some excellent fruits. Rainbow’s progress from mythril to admantite rank already shows the power of a good training regimen. Now, we just need to push the cap limiter, Ainz thought.

“Excellent work, Cocytus. I want you to continue training the Lizardmen, and keep me updated on the results. By the way, how’s Go Gin doing? Has he adapted to his new home?” Ainz decided to ask about the former Martial Lord.

“He. Wanted. To. Thank. You. Ainz-sama. He. Has. Now. Seen. The. True. Zenith. Of. Martial. Power. And. He. Is. Training. Hard. To. Improve.”

“That’s good,” Ainz said.

Between going off to the Dwarf Kingdom, and then the ordeal with the Holy Kingdom and then the Draconic Kingdom, I haven’t had the time to visit him. I should rectify this. No point in collecting unique individuals if I never get to actually see them, Ainz thought as he recalled the unyielding look in the Go Gin’s eyes.

Ainz looked around the room again, to see if anyone else had discovered something. Seeing how no one else said anything, Aura spoke.

“The Quagoa we brought back from the Dwarf Kingdom. Their power in adulthood is determined by the quality of metals they consumed during their childhood. We have begun to run tests by feeding their young mithril, orichalcum and adamantium ores, to see the difference in the results produced. There is a chance that by feeding them prismatic ores their power could be very high. Though it’s probably too wasteful unless we can find a source of prismatic ore in this world. Also, selective breeding might produce good results as well,” Aura said.

“Excellent judgment. Very well done, Aura,” Ainz praised her. “Then, does anyone else have anything to report?”

After no one spoke, Ainz ended the meeting. However, he did not do so by simply dismissing the guardians, rather he made another announcement.

“Also, I would like for all of you to take tomorrow off. You work hard for Nazarick, but taking time off to relax and recharge is also important. We can do the same thing we did the last time. Though this time I’ll be sure to disable the Lion Golem so it doesn’t cause any trouble,” Ainz said. “And with that, this meeting is over.”

His words sent the guardians into action. Aura exchanged some words with Shalltear before the two of them approached Albedo, and the three began to whisper to each other. Similarly, Demiurge asked Ainz if he planned to have the male guardians relax in the spa again. After obtaining a confirmation he went to share the news with Cocytus and Mare.

Perhaps it was the remnants of Suzuki Satoru, but Ainz felt that taking time off to relax was important. It was a welcome break in his schedule of world-altering decisions and the pressure he felt from having to act as the Supreme Being. Plus, it allowed him to reflect on the time he spent in this world and the memories he had created with his guardians.

Ainz smiled as he recalled their battle against the mad Lion Golem, the last time they had a day off. That was a great memory, one that he would treasure just as closely as the memories of his old friends.

 

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