SCENE III: DOMINATION
CHAPTER I: MASTERY
The Great Tomb of Nazarick didn't have the means to manage an empire effectively because it was tailored to manage itself effectively. With the Emerald Tablet returned to its shrine, however, the means to adapt the current systems of management to the New World became available. Lord Ainz, with new perspectives granted from renewed humanity, recovered the original blueprints for the Great Tomb of Nazarick and set about modifying them to accommodate new variables. My mother assisted him in adjusting and altering the current design of the tomb into something more, Lord Ainz's mastery of the old systems tempered by my mother's knowledge of the New World. Having someone with half a millennia of experience in this unknown land helped immensely and what would have taken months to accomplish took only roughly six weeks. Every guardian and faction leader was presented with the changes and with a few modifications, each one signed the document and finalized the construction details.
Construction began the very instant all of the signatures were applied and with the limitless potential that the Emerald Tablet harnessed, there was no shortage of materials to use. An entire economics system was integrated into the current administrative system to monitor everything involving trade and commerce. Anyone with access to the system could view not only the many details of the economy of Nazarick but of all places controlled by the Sorcerer Kingdom. The fragmented economic structure of the kingdom's economy became streamlined from the ground up, transforming the Sorcerer Kingdom from a coalition of towns with separate wants and desires into a proper domain that was unified economically. Every major leader was informed of the changes and agreed to the reforms they had to make because of the potential for wealth, an unsurprising but expected reaction.
In the hectic months of activity and construction that followed, the experimental economics system proved resoundingly effective. Trade across the Sorcerer Kingdom was booming thanks to the new roads and means to travel created, the system calculating everything needed to construct a hyperefficient road network. Impoverished towns and villages flourished from the dramatic increase in wealth generation which led to further and further exports and imports. A recruitment system had to be added to help with the rising demand for security, the Sorcerer Kingdom recruiting or adapting local talent into their militias to defend these new holdings. Like the economic system, the system monitored and allocated everything the new soldiers required to function and each militia, though bearing their own heraldry and identity, became part of a larger, structured regime. The Sorcerer Kingdom could defend itself from most threats without major micromanagement.
All of the changes brought many questions from the most loyal vassals. Though many in the world believed that Lord Ainz had passed away, the most loyal of his kingdom didn't believe the news and even expected his eventual return. Using this devotion to his advantage, Lord Ainz returned to the loyal servants in his new form, a human lord in place of a skeletal lord. The official story was that Lord Ainz had passed after a millennium of existence and that he, Lord Momonga, was tasked with taking their place as ruler of the Sorcerer Kingdom. It was no surprise that some of the vassals didn't believe that this upstart man wearing the clothing of their fallen lord was Lord Ainz's successor but after a few demonstrations of powerful magic and combat prowess, there was no room left for them to doubt him. Loyalty was sworn anew and he made sure that the news spread quickly that the Sorcerer Kingdom had a new sorcerer-king ruling it. Only the most loyal and trusted knew the whole truth.
It relieved many in the kingdom that the new king decreed for a defensive war doctrine rather than an offensive one. The militias would form into a defensive army when any would-be invaders tried to attack and each militia was sworn to rise in the defence of other settlements. It amused me that this was the opposite stance of the Slane Theocracy, their greatest warriors offering no such protection to their villages and towns. I had asked Lord Ainz if this was deliberate to which he agreed that it was. The Slane Theocracy was the first enemy he'd found in the New World and with his humanity restored, he went as far as saying that he hated what they were.
The plan wasn't perfect. With new wealth to steal and new warriors to fight, many groups started to spring up to exploit this new prosperity through illegal means. The militias couldn't stop the dramatic increase in bandits and rebels so other groups had to step in to cover the holes. The most prominent among those groups was the Adventurer's Guild which saw a large increase in contracts and requests, too much for them to handle effectively. Seeing an opportunity for positive change and subtle control, the Sorcerer Kingdom intervened and funded the guild's infrastructure to handle their increased demand. The isolated chapters were reorganized into a loose coalition lead by a council of grandmasters drawn from each chapter. The fragmented regulations and rules were adapted into the Doctrine Traveler, a coherent set of rules and guidelines that all future chapters would follow and all current chapters would apply. With the new funding and unity of purpose, the Adventurer's Guild set about their business once more to try and contain the rampant threats within their regions. Only a few among them questioned the morals of accepting our help.
It was into this crucible that Shalltear and I were thrown.
"Your paperwork has been filed and approved. You'll both be ranked as Adamantite adventurers based on your performance tests. Here are your rank plates and insignias...and welcome back to the Adventurer's Guild, Beric Lowarm," the clerk informs me in a flat but pleasant tone, his left hand gesturing lightly for us to move out of the line so he can serve the next person. I nod and take the plate off of the desk, Shalltear doing the same and brushing past me to head for the job boards. She says aloud in a serious tone, "What's the hardest jobs they have?"
"Wilderness exploration and dungeon clearing. Some might require a larger party to perform," I reply in a similar tone of seriousness as I attach the plate to my neck, the material uncomfortable but bearable. It still bugs me to see Shalltear have to lower herself and disguise her nature with black hair, blue eyes, and darker skin but she insisted that I needed to go along with the disguise. She attaches the plate to her right wrist as she slides her way past those in her way and waltzes up to the job board, her left hand taking a job from the highest parts of the board without looking at it. I smile lightly as she brushes her way past more adventurer's, uncaring if they're offended by her progress as she makes her way towards the main door. I feign empathy by apologising for her behaviour as I follow her path, the adventurer's who care to notice me displaying a mixture of understanding, annoyance, and curiosity.
I'm glad that the guild visit is brief because the number of adventures occupying their main hall gives me a sense of unease. As we enter the open-air and take the half flight of stairs to the streets, Shalltear whispers to me, "Not one of those adventurers is a match for us. Even the strongest among them is so...weak."
"They have their uses," I whisper but my attention is drawn to my surroundings as expected. Even though we had time to browse Irlo before performing our duties, it's still staggering how much it had changed. The small farming and trading town had become a bustling township with swathes of workers, craftsman, soldiers, and traders coming and going on cobblestone streets. The township had grown upwards instead of outwards, the parameter unchanged but the building heights increasing to the point where it blocked out most of the light. I stop my casual viewing when Shalltear takes my left hand and guides me towards wherever we're going, my body following her as she whispers, "This isn't home anymore, is it?"
I don't answer her and keep pace with her silence, my mind lost in the combination of grief and confusion. I didn't recognize anyone that passed us and none of them knows who I am. Though the people we meet are cheerful and vibrant, I don't feel any of their cheer or happiness. Shalltear, blessedly, doesn't press the issue until we exit the township through one of the massive iron gates, my eyes wandering over the grass fields and nearby forest as she says to me gently, "You did fine...I know that was hard for you-"
"This isn't my home..." I reply, my voice tainted with my vivid hatred. Now that we're outside the township, all I keep thinking about is the statues, each statue meant to be an inspirational tale of a warrior sacrificing their life to defeat a monster but based on white lies of what really happened. I wanted to go back and tear down all of the statues Lord Ainz gave these people but knew that it would do no good. These people were better off believing a comfortable lie and finding out the truth when they're ready.
I smile and bring my right hand up, Shalltear doing the same with her left hand as we pool our magic together. A dark barrier springs up around us as a swarm of needle projectiles bounce off the energy, some of the needles glowing with crimson light and causing the barrier to crack slightly. We wait patiently until whoever is attacking runs out of projectiles, the wave of metal barely stressing the shield's integrity. Shalltear tilts her head to the left slightly as she says aloud, "That was different from when I usually leave towns. Do you want to take care of this?"
"Gladly," I reply as I lower my right hand and close my eyes, my chest rising as I inhale magic into my third lung. Shalltear takes over projecting the shield as I open my eyes and exhale in the direction the projectiles came from, a blast of lightning cutting through the tranquil scene with a cacophony of breaking wood and burning plants. Whoever is in concealment moves out from behind the trees at speed but is nowhere near fast enough, the assailant unable to outrun the attack. They hit the ground as soon as the lightning makes contact, my mouth closing to let the leftover power crackle around my mouth to dissipate.
"You're getting pretty good at that. You left their body intact," Shalltear says as she lowers her hands, both of us strolling through the rapidly collapsing shield towards the charred ruin I left in the forest. Shalltear performs sweeps of her right hand to put the random flames out but I direct my attention to the body on the ground. My eyes blink a few times to steal what information I can from their corpse before they expire, my eyes darting through the information as I read, "High kill count, mostly from stealth attacks-"
The assailant was more unharmed than I first thought and thrusts a blade attached to their right wrist towards my face. I angle my head enough to avoid the glowing crimson blade as my right-hand pulls the dagger from my hip sheath and stabs it into their wrist. A female voice roars in agony as I slam the blade into the earth, pinning their blade arm to the blackened floor. They try to reach for the knife with their other hand but I grab their left wrist and close my grip harshly. I elicit another scream from them as I open my grip, their hand flopping uselessly to their side. Shalltear approaches after putting out the fires and gazes down at the woman, the woman's legs trying to push her away from us but failing to move her very far.
"I know enough for myself. Tell me the important details," she says as she smiles darkly at the cowering woman, my head nodding as I filter through what I read and pick out the important details. The woman starts trembling in place, her breath becoming terrified gasps through her concealing mask as I say to Shalltear calmly, "High-value target. Their weapons are partially enchanted with life leaching magic. Other than that, there's nothing special about them."
Shalltear rushes forward and swings her greatsword as soon as I finish speaking, the woman screaming one last time before their head is separated from their body in one swift stroke. The blood that flows from the fatal wound is sucked into the mechanism of the sword, the new vitality causing the greatsword to pulse with purple waves of energy. Shalltear closes her eyes and breathes calmly as the pulses of energy flow into her but I place my right hand on her shoulder, her reverie broken so she can stare at me in annoyance. I say lightly, "What did we talk about before we left Nazarick?"
"Shut up. Don't lecture me," she snaps as she lets her greatsword finish its task before tossing it into her inventory. I keep my hand on her shoulder and lower my head slightly in expectation, her right hand swatting my hand aside so she can walk away in frustration. I follow slowly behind her and say slowly, "Shalltear, we have to show restraint. That means-"
"You just cut down part of the forest with your breath!" she snaps as she turns angrily to me, my annoyance rising in time with hers. I try not to let the irritation show on my face and try to sound diplomatic when I reply, "Point taken but the first point still stands. We both need to show restraint-"
"Why!? All we ever do is show restraint!" she snaps back, my thoughts halting as she makes a fair point. We stare at each other for tense moments but I can already feel my conviction faltering and my anger cooling, my shoulders sagging as I sigh in frustration and defeat. I whisper grudgingly as I walk towards her, "Okay, fine... we'll do this your way... but if we get in trouble for it-"
"We won't get in trouble for it and if we do, why would I care?" she says with a smile, my eyes rolling as she turns away from me and strolls towards the cobblestone road nearby. I flick my left hand at the remains on the ground before following, the shadows around me springing to life and absorbing the corpse for future use. Shalltear reaches the road first and turns to gesture for me to hurry up, her voice amused as she says, "Let's start our adventure sometime today. I really want to see if the Slane Theocracy is all its been hyped up to be from the recon reports."
I hurry to her side, smiling from our thoughts being the same.
