[Note : I intend for some scenes to refer back to the original light novel, so that I don't have to go through retyping them. Also, many thanks for the reviews and points for improvement. Will fix the -san/-sama suffix use in the future. Note on 2 June 2016 - updated some inconsistencies compared to canon. Thanks to random-reviewer for highlighting. So the part on brute-forcing the rooms were amended.]
To some people, the Level 9, the leisure and facilities area is one of the most beautiful of the floors in Nazarick. It took the combined efforts of the Supreme Beings to design the various baths and springs, the rest areas, the dining halls, all of which needed many, many hours of dedication from the players who held professional work outside of Yggdrasil.
Its' beautiful, but there was a problem. Wololo forgot where his room was.
As much as the game permitted customisation, they was no name tagging each of the rooms. Perhaps they assumed everyone will remember where their rooms are. So he planned to take the brute force approach.
And so Wololo was to walk all the rooms and stumbled into each and every different room before he soon found his room on the 20th door.
All the rooms are massive, befitting their status as supreme beings of Nazarick. Each room could be further customised by each inhabitants, in the way they saw fit. Wololo's unit came with a small bedroom, a work area for his smithing/enchantment work, complete with multiple furnaces, anvils, and tools hung on 3 rows of cabinents. There was also an area with various charts and graphs, where Wololo used to keep track of prices of raw materials for his equipment, and also the prices of equipment to sell his wares. Between them, there's a big black box, a magical item used for stockpiling crafting material. As far as he recalls, it could store some 2000 units (he spent a fair bit of cash to buy extra slots to expand it from the base 500 slots).
On the other side of the work areas were rows of books and large cabinets where blueprints were kept. The blueprints came in all shapes and sizes, some were rolled up to look like scrolls, some neatly organised and stored in various folders and files. Blueprints were mostly used to create higher level equipments, and larger structures like player-made buildings or faction weapons used when Yggdrasil had multi-guild events.
"Welcome home, Wololo-sama." A sultry voice spoke out. Wololo turned to face the floating fairy, and chuckled.
"You sound a lot sexier than I thought you'd be, Lida." The fairy had a faint purple glow around her, a sweet looking face based off a Japanese idol that he idolised, eyes with purple irises and flowing shoulder length dark hair that. It was the"Office-Lady" look.
A black jacket, black knee length skirt, and a buttoned white shirt, with a button that seemed like it was going to burst from the fairy's breasts pushing against it. It also revealed a lovely cleavage, and gave a tiny peek of the bra's edges underneath the shirt. "And as sexy as I imagined you too be." It was one of Wololo's many fetishes.
Lida blushed, her light purple cheeks turned a little darker. "Thank you for the compliments, Wololo-sama." That said, her looks did fit her main role, as she's mainly Wololo's assistant at work, organising and sorting through his wares and goods, and used to help arrange for the sales and collection of his wares, and their delivery to the marketplace. "What would you be making today, Wololo-sama?"
He wondered about that for a moment, but he was soon messaged by Momonga-sama.
"I'm going outside, come."
"Not today, my dear Lida." He grinned, and gestured her to stay in the room.
"I'll be waiting for your orders, Wololo-sama"
…
…
It's already night, and Wololo had never seen clearer star-filled skies, a far cry from the dark, murky swamp the tomb used to be in, or the foggy skies of Yggdrasil. Stars seemed to stretch from horizon to horizon, and there seemed to be a milky strip along where most of the stars seemed to gather. Momonga (for some reason, he was in some dark heavy armor) and Demiurge was already up there, taking in the view of the many stars.
Wololo transformed into a massive eagle, about the size of 2 humans upright, and flew up to join them. They were already in conversation…
"It's beautiful, isn't it? This world glitters like a box of jewels."
"Indeed. I believe the beauty of this world exists to adorn you, Dark Warrior-sama."
Wololo chuckled. Momonga must've been in some kind of disguise. "Indeed, it is beautiful. You say these stars exist to adorn me? No, no. Perhaps the jewels of this world are meant to adorn the great tomb of Nazarick, and the guild of Ainz Ooal Gown."
"If you willed it, all of Nazarick will seize that jewel box for you, Momo-Dark Warrior-sama. We would give our all to serve you and Ainz Ooal Gown" Demiurge said, with a slight bow, his right arm to his chest.
"That's an interesting proposition to seize this world, certainly worth thinking about… But so long as we know nothing of this world, it's probably a foolish idea." Momonga wondered, and noticed the eagle that's now beside them, flapping it's wings. "Ah Wololo-san, you are here. What do you think?"
The eagle's head turned and looked around, "A fascinating new world indeed." Momonga's conversation flew over his head, as he'd be mesmerised by the night sky and the stars, wondering whether this new world shared any similar star constellations.
Momonga mentally had a sweat roll down his forehead, remembering that Wololo has an occasional tendency of absent-mindedness, and on adventures he used to have to pull Wololo aside to remind him to give 100% presence during the activities.
"Ah. Do you think we are the only ones here?" Wololo mused over the question a while. Last night he tried messaging all the members of the guild, and Momonga being the guild leader probably would have done so too. It was futile though, no better than shooting arrows into the dark and hoping it'll hit a rabbit.
"I don't know… but we should find out… discreetly."
"As long as the world hears of the name Ainz Ooal Gown, they will know it is us…." Momonga looked over to Nazarick, and saw waves and waves of earth being moved, and the walls of Nazarick was soon hidden behind them. Impressed, Momonga then turned over to Demiurge and Wololo, "I'd like go check out how the twins are doing with the camouflage. I'd like to reward them for doing a good job." And the three flew over to the 2 hardworking dark elves...
…
…
The next day, back in the throne room...
"It's a good idea to give the rings to the guardians." Wololo, now back in squirrel form mused to Momonga, while he watches him use the Mirror of Remote Viewing.
"Yea, they used to just have to sit at their floors and wait for invaders. Now I need them to be mobile." Momonga waved and the view zoomed out.
"I'm planning to fly around the area after this. It's probably better to head to nearby towns or cities to get a sense of what's going on." Wololo opined, whilst pointing a finger at the mirror, thinking he saw something. "Oh! Oh! I think there's a village..."
Momonga then zoomed in to the village, and sensed something amiss over what he saw.
There were people running.
"Is that a festival?"
It was Sebas, the third person in the room, earlier lectured Momonga for trying to sneak out, now stationed himself near Momonga to keep watch over him. He could not permit Supreme beings wandering about without protection, especially without a clue of the strength of others in this new world.
"No, that's not a festival." Closer observation of the villagers revealed they were screaming, their faces panicked, and bleeding on many of them. Some were even lying on the ground, probably dead.
"Should we do something, Momonga-sama?"
"No. There's no value in it." Momonga replied to Sebas, but somehow seemed to see a silhouette of Touch-Me-sama around him. Then he remembered the days when they were first starting off, and being heteromorphs they were frequently targeted by human players, and it was Touch-Me-sama that saved him and soon brought him into the fold of Ainz Ooal Gown.
"Sebas, I've changed my mind. I'm heading out. Ask Albedo who's next door to come on later fully armed. Don't bring Ginnungagap. Prepare some support units with invisibility or stealth too." Momonga commanded, and soon teleported away.
Wololo transformed himself into a middle aged human, turned to Sebas and smiled. "You shouldn't worry too much, Sebas. Momonga-san has always cautious, and won't let himself get into trouble. I'm sure he has mentally worked out the odds."
Sebas bowed and left to inform Albedo and prepare the support team. Wololo took the chance to use the Mirror of Remote Viewing. After about 3 hours of searching, and no SOS from Momonga, he decided he too should head out.
[Message]: "Momonga-san, I'm headed out too. I'll let you know what I find later."
Momonga replied: "The knights I see at this village seem harmless so far, but please be careful."
Wololo smiled, and then casted his teleportation spell. [Gate]
…
…
After their brief escapade to the outdoors of Nazarick with Momonga and Demiurge, Wololo went back to his room to rest. Unlike Momonga's undead form that did not require sleep, Wololo still could take naps, and found it rather pleasurable. After all the surprises this new world has offered, a short nap to consolidate his thoughts and rest his mind would be good. Lying on his large king size bed, questions kept popping in his head.
Is this world similar to Yggdrasil?
How could he best gather information in this new world?
How does money work? What's the currency and how are they valued?
How could he use his skills to gather information?
What should they aim to do in this new world?
He couldn't quite answer all of them, but eventually he fell asleep anyway.
[Gate]
The place he landed at was covered in collapsed buildings, some of them had only columns left standing, and rubbles small and large all strewn over the ground. A scene out of the stereotypical ruins of an ancient civilization, and also happens to be the Old City of E-Puspel.
Wololo transformed into a small pigeon, for a better view of the surroundings. Up in the air, he noticed what looked like an actual city, and flew towards it, the New Town of E-Puspel. E-Puspel had 2 layers of fortification, and located between E-Rantel and the capital of Re-Estize, it served as the second line of defense of the Kingdom, in the event of an invasion. As such, it has seen its'own share of battles in the past, though much less in recent times, since the Empire and the Kingdom started agreeing a venue for their annual war. Now, its beautifully peaceful, and only the ruins of the Old City remains as a remnant of the wars 200 years ago.
Wololo spent his time as a pigeon perched over shop signs, eavesdropping on the conversations of the citizens. Most conversations are petty and generally banter and gossip, but placing himself near shops and taverns he could observe what was bought and sold, and what were their prices. When he wanted to head indoors he morphed into a mouse, and hid under the tables or in between the cabinets.
It wasn't long before he found out about the existence of guilds, of merchants, or adventurers. As a mouse he snuck into the offices of the town's leaders, and got a look of various maps and overhead their conversations. He didn't understand the letters or characters, but tried to follow after the leaders. For this, he transformed himself into a small flea and hid themselves in their hair.
Taking the form of various animals and critters, sneaking into various buildings and stalking what they did, a week soon passed.
"Wololo-san, how are you doing? I've managed to get some information off the chief of Carne Village that I saved earlier, and from some warrior I rescued from death, and I'd like to share it with you and Albedo." Momonga's message surprised the little squirrel hiding on the top of window, and he fell onto a flower vase below.
"Ouch."
"Wololo-san?"
"Sorry, was sneaking around and fell. I'll come back now."
He made a small circular motion with his tiny mouse paws, casted [Gate] and was soon right outside Nazarick's entrance.
Back in the Throne Room, Albedo, Wololo (in wolf-form) and Momonga looked at the map that Momonga obtained and Momonga soon went on sharing what he knew of this new world.
"Seems like none of them match anything we know of Yggdrasil, and they do not correlate to any existing Norse mythology on which the game was based off."
"From my eavesdropping in E-Puspel, this region is dominated by the 3 human nations, the Kingdom of Re-Estize, the Empire of Baharuth and the Slane Theocracy. Seems like the Slane Theocracy is the most militarily capable of the three."
"Yes thats what we heard as well, we had a little brush with the Slane Theocracy earlier. They used a Dominion of Authority against us as their trump card."
"Ah... But it is no match for Ainz-sama.." Albedo remarked proudly.
"Ainz-sama?" Wololo reacted quizzically.
"Yes yes about that. I plan to change my name to Ainz Ooal Gown to get the name out. If the world hears of Ainz Ooal Gown, it surely will reach the ears of our guildmates. And they will then come look for us. Do you object to that?"
"No objections, Ainz-san. For the guild master to take the guild name as your own is understandable, even admirable. How do you propose to move ahead after this? Send the guardians out to survey the surroundings?"
"Indeed, I plan to join the adventurers' guild, and I will have Narbarel accompany me, that's the first step in our journey. I will make the name of Ainz Ooal Gown known all over the world. If any of our fellow guildmates came to this world, once they hear of the name they will come to us." At that very moment Albedo had thoughts of torturing Narbarel, wondering why she was selected over herself, the wife of Ainz-sama.
"But yes, we first intend to use the adventurers' guild to extract more information about this world. It'll almost be like we are starting a whole new adventure again... Maybe you should do something like that too."
"Yeah, the capital of Re-Estize has a craftsmans' and a merchants' association, and I plan to head there and make a advance base of operations there for us."
"Oh. The warrior captain we rescued earlier in Carne village was part of the Kingdom of Re-Estize. Gazef Stronoff if I remember correctly."
"I'll keep that name in mind. Please excuse me, Ainz-san. I will go pack some necessities for the trip." Wololo then tapped his Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, and vanished from the view of the elder lich and his companion.
"Please distribute the maps to the rest of the guardians, and have them work out a plan to gather information from the nearby towns and cities." There was a look of worry on Albedo's face. "What is it, Albedo?"
"Ainz-sama… Is it really fine to let Wololo-sama just head out on his own, right into the capital city? He too is, one of the Supreme Beings of Nazarick and the guardians would not want to let him out of their sights. Won't it expose him to enemies? Can't we send Sebas to him?"
"He'll be fine. He's a master shapeshifter."
"But Ainz-sama, what if the enemy has unusually powerful equipment or items that could detect him? It is the capital of the Kingdom of Re-Estize after all."
"Don't worry about it, Albedo. He's not reckless… usually. Anyway, if you are worried, arrange it such that Sebas's route will eventually head to the capital, and meet up with Wololo-san there. "
"Yes, Ainz-sama." Albedo bowed, not daring to challenge her master further. Ainz, though he told Albedo to not worry about it, did feel a little worry now, that they are indeed in unfamiliar territory, and perhaps someone, or something, could threaten them. Though he had great faith in Wololo's ability to handle himself in unfamiliar surroundings, there was a gnawing feeling that maybe they should be a little more careful.
But he decided against it. Wololo will be fine.
"Albedo, gather everyone in the throne hall. I'd like to announce the change in name, and our new direction to the entirety of Nazarick. I will leave the details to you."
"As you command, Ainz-sama."
…
…
A few days later
…
He had heard from Albedo that the guardians are to claim the world for Ainz-sama. It came somewhat as a surprise, as Ainz did not seem like the world-dominator kind of person. Shalltear, Sebas, Aura, Mare and Demiurge would all be sent out, to map the surroundings of Nazarick. They would all provide daily updates, as would Ainz-sama himself in his adventures as Momon, the Dark Warrior.
The capital of Re-Estize was less impressive as he imagined it to be, compared to some of the largest cities back in Yggdrasil. The merchant sector though, did have the vibrancy befitting the capital of the Kingdom, with goods transported by horseback or other means from the rest of cities. It also seemed like there was a decent mix of foreigners whom brought their exotic goods to the city, their various spices and teas, powders and dyes. The exotic goods segments of the market had a strange odour that most may find mildly repulsive, but for Wololo, though now in human form, he still retained a sensitive nose, and the odours are no less than an assault on the senses, and he quickly walked away before the aromas overwhelmed him.
A few blocks away from the spice market lies the crafts area. Traders peddling furniture, weapons, armor or adventurers' supplies would all set up shop or stalls around the square. More established merchants own the proper shops by around the square, whilst those starting out their trade or those with less items to sell set up small stalls in the square itself, peddling their wares to beginner adventurers, or former army men transitioning into the private protection sector, hoping to offer their skills.
This should be a good place to start, maybe I could get some work as a blacksmith's apprentice and check out how do smiths here make their wares. Or maybe I'll just check out the competition first...
He explored the market, stopping to look at the various knives, swords, shields, platemail and chainmail armors, and noticed that the quality of the steel used in this world seemed a little bit better than those back in Yggdrasil. It was something he'd like to explore further in the future. Perhaps the mix of other elements in the metal is different. For the use of those starting out their journey as adventurers or monster hunters, this quality should be fit for purpose. Most of them did not have any imbued magic or enchantment merged into the wares, and are probably made by smiths that had not much experience with magic.
About 2 hours of wandering later, he made his way into the larger shops at the side of the square. The first shop he entered hung a large dark blue banner across the walls, on it was a crest. It seemed like a military emblem or some noble crest, but at this time he could not recognise it.
"Welcome to George's. We are the city's military grade equipment maker!" A young man shouted, perhaps it was a standard greeting for incoming customers. "We also carry replicas of our national treasures and the armor of our warrior captain."
Oh!
"Can I have a look at them?" The young lad then walked over to a corner, gesturing Wololo to go over.
"Buying some souvenirs?"
Looking at the replicas he noticed they were similar to some higher grade items back in Yggdrasil, suggesting their origin may be foreign in nature, or perhaps their maker were aware of Yggdrasil's design influences. Though the replica surely could not match the workmanship or the enchantments of the original, it was sufficiently well made that it would probably be hung proudly on the walls of many peasants. "How did the Kingdom get such treasures?"
"No official story I know of but the bards and minstrels sings about them being the remains of the 13 heroes. There is also another version of the story where it was used to slice through the six demons."
Well, the replicas is arguably the most interesting part of the entire shop, the rest of the goods on display were in the low to minor grade, meant for troops after all. Well, no nation could arm their army with high grade items…
"How much is this replica?" Wololo grabbed the hilt of "Replica Razors Edge", showing it to the young storekeeper.
"6 gold pieces."
"Uh never mind I don't have that kind of money." Wololo quickly placed the replica back to the display cabinet. "That's all, thank you." And walked out.
I'm poor. No. I'm broke.
He had Yggdrasil gold coins, but he would rather not use them unless really forced to. In fact, he would rather first melt the coins into gold bars and then exchange them for the currency of the kingdom. So the first matter of the day… is to find work.
The craftsmans'guild is far less rowdy than the adventurers'guild. It was where various craftsmen came together to share their craft, and showcase their skills. It is also where young men and women came to learn how to work with various raw materials, and fashion them into equipment, or furniture, or buildings. A registration at the guild was required before you could sell goods or services at the market, and a monthly report of collections was to submitted to the guild, and the guild would then take a fraction of your proceeds to fund guild activities. Naturally, higher contributing businesses get more say in the affairs of their craft, and also assist in lobbying for high profile work with royalty or great adventurers. The craftmans' guild also act as a directory for services, listing the sort of services each and every member provides.
And there lies the opportunity for Wololo.
There are few enchanters in this town.
It made perfect sense for him. It did not require large spaces, and a pop up stall in the market would be sufficient, and would provide exposure to travellers and adventurers who needed a little boost along the way. He quickly asked the receptionist to register himself, under a fake name he thought up there and then, Wolf. Some formalities, signatures and forms later, the receptionist guided him upstairs for a briefing by the market stall coordination officer.
"Setting up a stall 4 feet by 4 fee wide will have a daily rent of 4 copper, and lasts from sunrise to sunset. Bigger spaces will charge more, but if you are indeed an enchanter as you say you are, you probably won't need more. We will collect your rent at the end of each day, at sunset, so I hope you make at least 4 coppers. If you don't, your name and a drawing of your face will be placed on the wall, and any patrolling officer is empowered to capture you on the grounds of rent-evasion."
Gulp.
4 coppers. Should be achievable, but he wouldn't want to get in trouble on the first day.
He then messaged Momonga, wondering whether he could get a soft loan of Kingdom currency, just in case he had no customers on the first day of setting up shop.
"Ainz-sama, do you have coins to spare? I need a loan."
"Not much. My adventurer work doesn't pay that well yet. But I can give you 2 or 3 silver coins. I'll transfer them to you." Magically, 3 silver coins popped up in Wololo's pocket. The 3 silver coins should last him a week of stall rent.
"Thanks!"
The first day of his stall was pretty much the outcome he feared. No customers.
There were people who came by and asked what he was selling, but when they heard of enchantments, most thought it was a conman setting up shop, using cheap tricks to trick less careful travellers for money. So most walked away.
And he paid the rent at sunset. He had 2 silver coins and 9 coppers left. He could last another 8 days.
The second and third day of business went by equally quiet as well. There were indeed many curious passerbys, wondering what a middle aged guy with no goods before him, setting up a stall with a banner reading "Enchantments." doing.
After three days of failures, Wololo was dejected. He wondered whether he chose the wrong line, and whether there was a reason behind why there were so few enchanters in this town.
On the morning of the fourth day, he tried again. A neighbouring merchant laughed, "You're still at it, huh? Here's a tip. Change your banner to something easier to understand. I don't understand what your writing means." Then it hit him like an arrow.
People don't understand my written language!
"Can you help me? I want to write 'Enchantments'."
The fellow merchant laughed. "I'll charge you 1 copper coin for that." Wololo promptly paid the 1 copper coin, thinking he had to spend and get himself seen.
Well, at the end of day four, still no customers. More questions from curious lookers though.
But salvation did come on day five.
A passing adventurer came by, and sat himself in front of him.
"I'm going to hunt ogres later. Can you help me make my armor stronger, so I can walk back alive tomorrow? I'll pay you tomorrow though for the 1 silver coin."
Wololo wondered whether this guy in his plain chain mail was going to run away on him, but figured he had to do some advertising. [Lesser Enchant Armor]. It was the lowest level of armor enchantments, but it had a multiplier based on the caster's enchantment skills, stats and level , so he figured it would suffice to protect him for a day, if it was only against mere ogres.
"Give me a downpayment of 2 copper coins. Pay the remainder tomorrow." The adventurer nodded, as he tried to the armor back on. Around his neck hung a small iron plate, indicating his rank as an adventurer. "Good luck with the ogres, and see you tomorrow."
The neighbouring merchant that earlier helped with the sign, came over and patted Wololo on the back, "Well done Wolf-san. That's your first customer!"
It's a start.
So now he made 2 copper, regardless of whether the guy came back alive.
He wondered whether his listed price of 1 silver for simple weapons/armor enchantments was too expensive, but decided to keep it. And that iron-ranked adventurer was his only customer for day five. Now he had 1 silver and 7 copper coins left, after paying the day's rent.
"How's things in Re-Estize?" Ainz messaged, before the day ended.
"Slow."
"That's trading for you. Doesn't have quick money like adventuring."
Day six, early morning.
The iron plated adventurer came back, with a menacing group of other adventurers.
Wololo feared the worse, thinking whether they were here to say he scammed them, as how it was back in the day in Yggdrasil when conjobs and turnarounds were common on the trading markets. The other merchants nearby quickly moved their stalls aside, thinking a brawl was going to happen, as it has in the past.
"This is the guy I told you about."
"I don't want any trouble now…" Wololo replied, wondering whether he should scrap this whole enchantment business down the drain.
The other adventurers walked over slowly, one even looked like it had a slight limp, and it was then Wololo noticed they were all quite injured. They all looked at him intensely, as if examining him in their heads.
"Did you really enchant his armor? He took a direct hit in the gut from the boss ogre's club and he walked away alive! We all thought he was done for when we saw his body flew so far." One of the other adventurers exclaimed.
"Oh, yes. Yes I did." Wololo let out a huge sigh of relief.
The iron-plated adventurer then took out 11 copper coins, the remainder of the payment, and placed it in his palm. "Thanks for saving my life yesterday. Normal chainmail wouldn't have taken that hit so well."
First daily profit!
Since then, the entire team of adventurers came over for a buff before heading out to slay monsters.
A week later, Wololo made enough of money from just the regulars to be able to pay back Ainz's 3 silver coins with interest. Ainz was surprised, but Wololo knew he got lucky when the adventurers came to him. It was the break he needed.
With the stress of not being able to meet rent gone, and with name recognition amongst the junior adventurers, Wololo felt relieved. His pouch now had 14 silver coins, and he decided to have 1 day of rest, instead of having his stall open every day of the week.
So after closing his stall for the day, he went exploring the city. Late at night, the city is quite different. Without the hustle and bustle of the ordinary peasantfolk going about their daily lives, night time is quiet, lit by the very few magical lights along the main streets. He had spent almost all his time in the merchant and craftsmens' district, that he had not seen the rest of the city. So this was the first proper chance he got to explore the rest of the city.
Then as he walks across a small bridge within the city, that he sensed it.
The Sewers. Something draws him to the sewers.
From the sewers beneath the bridge.
In his eyes, it seemed like some sort of energy flow that went into the sewers.
There's something down there.