...

E-Rantel

Inside his shop, Ainz was pacing back and forth; and if he were human, sweat would be streaming from his face.

Ainz glanced out the window, dismissing his anxiety, and realized he should probably check on the girl.

He knocked onto the door twice -

"Hey girl, it's me Ainz."

- and entered the shop's lounge room.

The blonde girl sat upright on the sofa. Her hand rested on the side of her face, feeling her skin as if it would vanish the next day.

From her reaction, he could tell something was strange. All he did was cure the minor curse she had with [Break Curse]...

...nothing much.

However, he did find it strange that curses were in this world.

If the requirements for a curse to be applied were the same as Yggdrasil, then that would mean she encountered something with a cursed class series...

- And that was what was on his nerves.

The cursed series was a double edge sword as it would give a player a great skill or ability, but at the cost of something. For example, the cursed knight would give players the ability to apply curses, release negative energy, and inflict instant death; however, any magical item below level 40 would break if equipped.

But what pricked the hair on his neck was the class requisition for any cursed class: One must be level 60; and in order to gain the skills for the class, one must be level 70.

Since the girl he encountered had a curse, whatever gave her it would be at least level 70 - a fairly high level for this New World.

And if it wasn't alone…

…it would be troublesome.

Ainz was confident he could take on multiple level 100 players if he collected enough information beforehand, but his wary laid within protecting the boy.

It wouldn't be hard for a level 70 being to kill a weak human before Ainz could apprehend or eliminate it.

He took a seat on the sofa across from the girl.

"Why don't you begin by telling me your name and how you got that curse of yours?"

The girl flinched when he mentioned the curse, but twin faint streams paved down her cheeks as she no longer hid behind her hair.

"W-were you the one… to cure me…?"

"Mhm, that is correct. Curing it wasn't a hassle; however, I really do need you to tell me how you got it."

As if all she heard was "...that is correct," the girl got down onto a knee and bowed before him.

"From this day forth, I, Leinas Rockbruise, will serve you until the end of my life."

"-Huh...?"

He wanted to scream, W-w-wait a minute! but he was too surprised by what she just said.

How could he take her, a girl no older than 14, oath of fidelity seriously? If anything he would laugh…

"HAHAHAAHHA!"

...and that's what he did.

"Sorry, sorry. Forgive my outburst, but there's no need for you to serve me."

Leinas shook her head to deny it.

"No, there is. This curse has cost me my family, my status, and my life. I've spent all my coins traveling to different priests and finding methods to cure it, but all of it failed..."

She stood up and looked him in the eyeholes of his mask.

"...I came across an array of people who promised me the solution to my dilemma, all for a greedy price. Yet you were the only one to solve it, and for no cost nonetheless."

"You misunderstand, all I wanted was to know how you got it," said Ainz, he was trying hard to hold in, I don't care about your life story!

The girl pondered for a bit and muttered, ...he's so kind… before she sat back on the sofa.

"Very well, if you won't accept my loyalty then I will do whatever I can to help you..."

Isn't that just a nice way of saying the same thing?

"...even at the cost of my life."

Yep, it's definitely the same thing…

Ainz face-palmed, unaware of how the girl became like this.

"...Look, I really only want to hear how you got cursed. That's all I'm asking for…"

Leinas' eyes sparkled brighter with admiration, and then her sweet voice let out a simple, "...I see…"

"...It was my 11th birthday if I remember it correctly- which I do. I could never forget that day. It began when I was playing in the flower fields as I practiced my swordsmanship. Amongst the nobles, I was always a rough child-"

"-the quick version!"

Ainz interrupted her. Even if he was an Undead, with eternity for a lifespan, he didn't want to spend it listening to her forever.

"Aha, of course."

Leinas took in a deep breath, preparing to revisit the moment her world changed. Her eyes closed as she imagined the scenery around her, the scent roaming in the air, and the sun's position. When her eyes opened, they burned with resentment as she finally spoke.

"...I killed a monster and it cursed me."

"-Eh? That's it?"

Ainz was at his wit's end, trying not to crush his devotee for wasting his time. Normally when someone beats around the bush, they beat it a little and then move on.

But Leinas?

She beat the bush until it was nothing but shredded leaves…

… and then continued beating the dirt in the ground as if to prove her dominance.

Rough child indeed, Ainz thought as he visualized the scene.

But it didn't make sense. How could this girl defeat a level 70 monster? She was barely level 15.

Ainz concluded two things:

There must be a different way to get cursed in the New World, and…

...I wasted too much time worrying about this matter….

As he was about to stand up to leave, the door burst open.

"Ainz! Was that an Earthquake just now?"

"Ah sorry, that was me laughing."

The boy's face paled, His laugh has that much power too? I don't even want to imagine what his diarrheas like… yea, I really don't want to imagine it…

Jir was about to turn around and leave- when he noticed the girl.

"Was she eating her arm too?"

"Ah no, she was-"

"You're part of the Royal Family!"

Leinas interrupted Ainz, who wasn't sure if he should be upset he was interrupted or shocked to hear what he heard.

"Royal Family? Jir?"

The boy glared daggers at the girl, who didn't seem to catch the hint.

"Since I used to be a noble, I met him when he was smaller; but I'm certain you're him."

Jir sighed, seeing that lying would get him nowhere.

"Yes, it is as she said. Sorry for lying to you Ainz. But I am the Baharuth Empire's true heir."

"...Empire, huh…"

Ainz glanced back and forth between the two young ones, Is everyone from the Empire weird?

"...I knew you were of high birth, but I really don't care. As long as you do your work it's fine with me."

Jir's posture relaxed a bit, and he was ready to leave- when Ainz asked him another question.

"So what's your real name then?"

"Huh? Why does that matter?"

"If I'm going to kidnap royalty, I don't want to screw up your fake name."

"Just call me Jir like you always have!"

Having enough of the conversation, he left in annoyance and went back to his room.

When it was just Leinas and Ainz left, Ainz made sure nobody else was around and leaned a little closer to the girl.

"...Do you know his real name…?"

Leinas nodded, and he gestured for her to spill the beans.

"It's Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix. I understand why he doesn't want people knowing it though."

"Yeah, me too. Who would want to be named after Farquaad."

"-Huh?"

Of course, Ainz didn't expect her to get his joke, but it really did make him feel lonesome once more.

"Forget I said anything."

"Okay."

The girl did as he said.

The two of them sat in silence, but Ainz had another question for her.

"So how long have you been Adventuring for? You're pretty strong for your age. Especially compared to him."

"Ah yes, I've been an Adventurer for two years now, so I would expect myself to be stronger than him."

Hearing this, Ainz felt a little pity for her. Two years of hard labor and she only leveled up fifteen times. And that's if she started out at level 1. If she was any higher, then she leveled up even less.

But it did get him wondering about how the level-up system worked in this World. Was it the same as Yggdrasil? So far, he killed many monsters and didn't gain any experience points.

"Do you still want to help me?"

"Yes, it would be my pleasure to do so."

Having her agree, he thought about using her for an experiment.

Not the heinous ones like in those horror movies, where the scientist forces a patient to eat their limbs, only to see if they gain or lose more calories from it.

That's something Ulbert would definitely do to those corrupted CEOs.

The experiment Ainz was thinking about was training. He wanted to see if the girl could level up, and if she could, how much could she progress.

"Then follow me."

Ainz led Leinas to a basement room he constructed. The space was fairly large for the progress he did. It could have been larger if the Skeletons he created would last forever; but since they didn't, he would create them when he had time and order them to dig.

He reached out his palm to the air.

"[Create Middle Tier Undead - Death Knight]"

From his hand, a liquid substance oozed out and morphed into the abomination known as a Death Knight.

It was a towering Undead, about 2.3 meters tall, with a shield in one hand and a flamberg in the other. Its imposing figure radiated the aura of an undead - hatred for the living.

"Eeek!"

Leinas stumbled back and fell onto her butt when she saw the monster.

"Don't worry, I summoned him and he's under my control. He won't harm you unless I order him to."

The girl was still scared, and asked, "Are you going to have me fight it?"

"The reason why I brought you here is to see you kill it. I want you to slay this monster and I want to see if you get stronger by doing so."

Based on the way the game works, since she's level 15, if she kills the level 35 monster, she should level up at least once or twice.

Ainz watched as the girl prepared to kill the monster. To his surprise, she wasn't joking when she said she spent all her money on finding a cure. Her sword that she brandished was rusting and looked as if the slightest touch would make it break.

He found it no surprise that when she struck the monster, her sword shattered into a million pieces.

"...crap… I don't think I can punch this thing to death."

Ainz internally facepalmed at her logic.

How are you supposed to go 'Adventuring' with shitty gear like this!?

He reached into his inventory when she was trying to pick up the pieces from the ground, as if she was going to glue back her sword, and pulled out a set of armor and weapons for her.

"Here, take change into this instead."

The girl accepted his offer and dropped the fragments she managed to collect and went back to the lounge room to change.

When she came back, she was fully encased in the Superior Class Items. A dark, Maroon half-plate armor, that looked like dried blood, wrapped around her body; and she held onto a matching colored spear with a Blood Hound's fang for its edge.

Normally Ainz would be cautious about giving away things like this, but since she was his devotee and test subject, he couldn't have her dying to a measly Death Knight.

One that wasn't even attacking her nonetheless.

"Does it fit?"

"Yeah, it changed its size when I put it on. I thought it was going to be too big when I saw it."

"Mhm, that's what magical items do. They change to fit the wearer."

"Woah! Really? I didn't know that!"

The girl was amazed. If she sold it, she could get at a fortune to live the rest of her life.

...But she wasn't going to do that.

Her savior gifted it to her so she would cherish it for the rest of her life.

Leinas moved forth to attack the Death Knight once more, but this time, when she thrust her spear forward- it went right through the skeleton's ribcage.

"Oops."

"Just keep practicing, you'll get there."

Unfortunately for Ainz, she didn't get there as quickly as he wanted her to. Her attacks missed most of the time, and it came to a point where she ended up swinging the spear like a bat to get better results.

It took an hour for her to kill the Death Knight, which Ainz wasn't happy about.

Fortunately, she leveled up three times- more than Ainz expected.

I guess she was close to level 16 then.

Ainz was about to create another Death Knight when the vision of the girl poking through the holes in its bones popped up in his head again.

"This time, let's try a different monster."

"Alright, but is it going to attack me?"

"Not unless I tell it too. Monsters I summon will always listen to me, and I don't want to kill you, so you'll be safe."

The girl was convinced by that and stepped back to create a space for him to summon another monster.

Once more, Ainz reached his gauntlet and called out.

"[Create Middle Tier Undead - Corpse Collector]"

Another black ooze dripped from his palm and morphed into another monster. This one was an undead too; but whereas the Death Knight looked like a skeleton, the Corpse Collector looked more like a Zombie.

It was 2.5 meters tall and wrapped around in bandages.

"Okay Leinas, you can stab it now."

The girl thrust her spear forward and into the Undead's body. From the three levels gained, Ainz would have thought that she would be more experienced and have better accuracy.

- But she didn't.

Ainz took out the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] and activated it.

A window appeared and it showed her levels; more so, it showed her class levels.

Although she was level 18 now, she only had 14 levels imputed.

One of the classes she had was 'Cursed Being' and when Ainz looked to the level of points in it, it read: -0.

I guess curing her took back the points.

As she was stabbing the Corpse Collector, Ainz clicked the holographic screen only he could see.

Level: 18/14.

Stunned by the foreign status, he scrolled further down.

Promote?

As something unimplemented into the game, he didn't know what it did- and pressed onto it. When his finger lifted from the screen, his vision focused on the fineprint he failed to see.

50,000 Gold Coins!

Not that it mattered though. A sum like that was much less spare change. If anything, he only felt a little lighter.

As soon as Ainz hit confirm, Leinas began to glow and her attacks increased. Instead of randomly poking at the Corpse Collector, she showed significant skill and ability; thus slaying it faster.

When Ainz checked the Status Window once more, he saw the changes. Leinas' Level no longer presented itself in that weird manner, and she gained new Job Classes fit for her new weapon.

The duo repeated this process of summoning a monster and killing it until the night fell.

...