Yeah I know it's been a long time, longer than it definitely should have been, and to tell you the truth I just didn't write for a few months straight. When I did write however it wasn't on this, it was on my other stories. One of them is mostly finished but it still needs a lot of work, the other consists of only a few paragraphs that may end up leading to nothing.
I had this chapter mostly done way back in November and just didn't touch it until a while ago. It's been slow going, to say the least, but in the end, I got it out!
I'd like to thank everyone for the support this story has received in that time and for sticking with it, it amazes me that it's gotten the following it does! I haven't had anything this popular in my life so I'll say it again thanks to every single one of you, every single follow, every single review it all means so much to me!
I hope you enjoy the chapter!
I don't own the Overlord(オーバーロードŌbārōdo?) Light novel, manga and anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.
I do not own the Rising of the shield hero (Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari) Light novel, manga and Anime series created by Aneko Yusagi
Chapter 8: The lion, The king, and The cave.
...
A few minutes had passed since they left Erhard's shop. The morning sun was still low, barely peeking over the mountains in the far distance, but it was still enough for the city to show signs of life. Bakers shops were starting to open with, the smell of freshly baked bread filling the streets.
"Can I get one? I haven't had breakfast yet." She asked, her mouth beginning to water from the smell.
"You will have to get it yourself." He replied, dipping his hand into his inventory and pulling out a set of copper coins.
"Why not come with me? It's not like people are afraid of you anymore."
Ainz stopped and looked at the girl. "Just because that rumor has spread doesn't mean I have been forgiven for what I've done, people do not forget such things so easily. For instance, if I were to disable the spells currently concealing us, it is almost guaranteed that one of them," he gestured to the people who were walking by unaware of their presence. "Would immediately report us to the guards."
"That's not the point!" she exclaimed.
Ainz chuckled lightly and held out his palm, two copper coins resting within. "Here, I will wait close by."
"Don't forget to disable the spell." She huffed, snatching the coins and stomping off in the direction of the closest bake stall.
Ainz shook his head at the childish display, she may look like a young adult but she was still mentally a child with the naivete of one. Once he was safely hidden away in a side alley, the Overlord ended the spells' effects and connected to one of the many invisible [lesser Eyeball Corpses] floating over the city.
Ainz had been slowly building his collection of permanent undead over the last few nights, the majority of them now hidden away in a mine he and Raphtalia had cleared out on her third day with him, close to the village of Lute. She knew nothing about it of course and he hoped to keep it that way.
The only active undead were the eyeball corpses stationed around the city and shadowing "strategic" targets - an extra precaution on top of the small army of shadow demons he already had - such as the king and the other three heroes like Motoyasu.
Wondering just what the fool was doing he switched sight from the one watching Raphtalia to one observing the Spear hero.
He was kneeling in front of Myne, talking to her with a hopeful look on his face, gently holding one of her delicate flaccid hands.
The red-headed girl seemed to be going crazy, though what the cause was, the Overlord couldn't know for sure; it was either being trapped within her own body, or Motoyasu's daily visits to give encouraging speeches about how they would figure out a way to get her out of this, sometimes with some declarations of vengeance thrown in every now and then, it was amusing all the same.
A feeling akin to a buzz echoed through his mind notifying him that one of his targets was approaching. He quickly disabled his [undead sight] and was met with a stick of bread thrust into his face.
"Do you want one?" Raphtalia asked, holding out a fresh loaf. "He gave me a few too many." She emphasized the assortment of food in her arms.
"No." He replied dismissively.
"But-" she tried to argue, only to find he had disappeared. She quickly moved forward and poked her head out of the alley. "How does he move so quickly?" One moment he was in front of her, the next he was around the corner and halfway down the street, already invisible. "He always does this when I try to make him eat…" her expression curled into a pout "And he left me to carry everything."
…
When they rounded the corner leading to the slave merchants' tent, they noticed two things. One was a well-crafted wooden cart attached to a small, grey, bipedal dinosaur that was looking directly at them. To Ainz it was both concerning and interesting, invisibly - and by extension mass invisibly - at the 3rd tier was something that could be easily unveiled with a decent sense of smell or hearing, but that would only give a general location; the dragon was looking directly at them...
The second was a short well dressed Beloukas and the man he was talking to. Equally well-dressed himself and just as round, he wore a red turban-like hat with a small jewel surrounded by filigree gold resting just above his forehead. Around his neck were two sets of gold rope chains leading to a green gem that pinned together the red vest that covered his puffy white-grey doublet and the top of his knee-cut pants of the same color.
"Do you think that's his contact from the merchants guild?" The girl inquired with a curious look.
"From the way, he is dressed? Absolutely." Ainz said.
"Shouldn't we reveal ourselves?" Raphtalia asked.
"No, give me a moment." He stated firmly and cast a message spell.
She watched as Beloukas seemed to jolt slightly. After a few moments of conversation, Ainz looked down at her. "He will begin to move in a moment. We will wait inside."
Raphtalia gave him a small nod and placed a hand on Ainz's armor, knowing what he intended to do.
"[Silent: Greater Teleportation]" In a brief flash of unseen light, the two of them disappeared from the streets of Melromarch and quickly reappeared inside the small white tent they had been in a few days prior.
…
"So, I assume this is the jeweler you spoke about?" Ainz asked as Beloukas entered the tent.
"Indeed, dear Sir, but he has come with some conditions." He replied with a wide smile, politely gesturing to the man behind him.
"It is alright Beloukas, I will explain later, for now, let me introduce myself. I am Hickwaal." The jeweler stated, giving a friendly - almost fatherly smile.
"A pleasure," Ainz replied, holding his hand out, which the man accepted and shook lightly.
"Ooh, the pleasure is all mine, Sir Shield Hero. I have been wanting to speak with one of you for some time actually."
"One of you?" The Overlord asked with a curious tone.
"The four cardinal heroes of course. I have a request, one that is rather dangerous but meets the specifics of everything you have asked of Beloukas here."
"Oh? The Overlord hummed skeptically. "You have my attention, what does this request entail?"
"Straight to the point," Hickwaal smiled. "I would like you to clear out a monster den in the eastern part of Melromarc. I have not seen it personally, but I am told there is an abundance of the gem you require."
"I see, then may I assume you will begin mining operations once this den is cleared out? How much do you believe you will be making monthly?"
Hickwaal seemed to be stunned for a moment, while Beloukas began to chuckle. "I told you he was perceptive, not like those other three fools."
"Indeed." Hickwaal regarded the slaver then turned back to Ainz. "I do, why do you ask?"
"Because I have recently run into financial issues after losing a bet - that in hindsight - I shouldn't have made. So my question is, how much are you expecting to make per shipment of this supposedly rare gem and how much of those profits are you willing to give in royalties, since we," He placed a hand on the girl's head. "Will be the ones providing you with the opportunity to begin mining in the first place."
Hickwaal took a step back and began to stammer "Ah, um… I, ah, think we should leave the details of monetary rewards until later. We do not even know if the gem deposit exists. It was only a rumor."
"I see, then before I accept I'd like to talk to you about something in your area of expertise."
"Ooh, yes, I do recall Beloukas mentioning you are interested in accessory crafting, I do believe I can help with that."
Ainz shook his head lightly "while I am interested in accessory crafting, it is not my main interest at the moment. To put it simply, I would like to know if it is possible to seal a spell within the type of crystal used for channeling."
"I'm... not sure," Hickwaal said with a wry tone. "This gem is mainly used for the conversion of mana into physical objects, and in some rare cases, the reinforcement of others like the pen I believe Beloukas here showed you before, or the creation of magic iron."
"Oh." Ainz hummed disappointedly.
"Ohh, there is no need to fret Sir Shield Hero. What you are inquiring about is similar to my own profession of accessory creation. To explai-"
Before Hickwaal could continue further, Beloukas interrupted, placing a gloved hand on the man's shoulder. "If you will allow me to intervene for a moment. Before you start explaining what you do for a living my friend, I think it is fervent that you start making your way."
Ainz nodded and hummed. "I agree and I accept the job, merchant, I assume it will take some time to reach our destination?."
"It will." The jeweler confirmed.
"I see, then we will have time to work out the details on the way, wouldn't you agree?"
Hickwaal relaxed slightly and held out a hand. "I would." He said, his lips curving into a friendly smile.
Ainz did the same, shaking it firmly then began to make his way to the cart waiting outside.
As he reached it, something hit him. It didn't cause any damage to him, but it was enough to make him, on reflex alone, take a step back.
He looked down at the creature trying its best to get through the invisible barrier that separated its sharpened claws from his armor. The cart it was still attached to, shaking violently with its erratic movements.
"What." He hummed in confusion. When he pushed the dragon back he saw something in its eyes. It was deranged, crazy like it had suddenly contracted a hard case of Rabies.
The dragon growled at him, barring its sharpened teeth, and charged in for another attempt to scratch at his abdomen. Of course, Ainz didn't wait for it, he side-stepped it and 'bopped' it on the head with the base of his fist, knocking it out there. The dragon continued with its forward momentum, sliding along the paved ground until it came to a stop near one of the multi-storied houses that surrounded the massive tent.
"You saw that, correct?" Ainz asked, looking at the three who had watched the whole thing.
"We did…" Beloukas said as he looked at the Overlord then at the lizard laying on the ground, still breathing.
"Do you have any idea as to what caused it? I assume that isn't normal behavior." Asked Ainz.
"No clue," he shrugged and grinned. "I've never seen a dragon in that state before. But I'd say it has something to do with you," The slaver said pointedly. "Got a tasty treat in there do ya?" He added in jest.
Of course, Ainz already had an idea as to what caused it. It wasn't the shield or the fact that he was undead, if that was the case it likely would have gone for his shield or cowered like every other animal he had come into contact with. No, it was likely his world item, which would explain why it was actively scratching at his abdomen.
The lingering question was, why? It was supposed to be effective against dragons so why did it attract that one, if anything it should have deterred it from coming closer. Did the dragons of this world also have a lust for treasure like the ones in his world did?
"Well, do you know what caused it?" Beloukas inquired with a hint of inpatients.
Ainz nodded to the man. "I do." He replied flatly.
"Then Sir, would you perhaps like to tell us what it was?"
"No." The Overlord shook lightly. "It is safer to keep that knowledge to myself." He said looking at the cart then back to Hickwaal.
He must have understood the unsaid question as he slumped his shoulders and shook his head. "Oh, I don't think that is possible at the moment Sir Shield Hero. Unless Beloukas here would be willing to let us borrow his horse?"
Beloukas shook his head and sighed. "As much as I would love to help, I need it today for deliveries."
"Then it seems we now have no way of reaching our destination within a reasonable time frame and acquiring a new mount could prove rather difficult," said Hickwaal
Raphtalia looked at the man, then to Ainz. "Don't worry about any of that, right?"
"Whatever do you mean miss?" The jeweler asked, looking to her then to Ainz, seeking some kind of understanding.
Ainz simply sighed, this was the second time she had done this today. He knew what she was implying and she was right, flying would have been the quickest way to reach their destination, but...
The Overlord reached behind his bright red cape and pulled out a small bronze statue in the shape of a horse.
"What's that?" She asked in confusion.
"I will show you in a moment. Beloukas, could I ask that you have your servants disconnect the wagon and move it inside?"
He again looked at Ainz with suspicion, but at the same time, he was interested in seeing what the hero would do with the small statue. He lazily clapped his hands and a moment later two of his servants appeared side by side.
"Yes, master?" They asked in unison.
"Disconnect the wagon from the dragon and move it inside."
"Yes, master!" They exclaimed, quickly moving to do the work asked of them. Before they reached the wagon however they turned and looked back. "What do you wish us to do with the dragon?"
The slaver waved a dismissive hand. "Just put it in one of the empty cages, I'll want to run some tests on it later."
"As you wish!" They bowed again and went to work.
Nodding, Ainz moved back inside the massive tent with the other three following him not far behind. Once he was far enough in, so that the only source of light was the candle flames that lit the long walkway, he placed the small statue on the ground and stated confidently "[release]!"
The statue began to glow a faint yellow and wobble back and forth on the spot, a loud neighing suddenly echoed throughout the tent as it started to grow. It grew bigger and bigger, then when its height reached that of Raphtalia, it began to move around and take on the look of a real horse, shedding its bronze metallic appearance and growing black hair, a mane, and a flowing tail just as dark. When it finally stopped growing its head reached a similar height to that of its master, a little over seven feet tall.
The massive horse turned to Ainz and respectfully lowered its head. Once it raised it back up he returned the gesture by grabbing the top of its head -just above its left eye - and rubbed its neck up and down in a soft, brushing motion.
It whinnied in thanks and laid the bottom of its jaw on its master's poldren to better accept the brushing.
"What just happened?" The three seemed to ask with indescribable looks, somewhere between awestruck and stupefied.
"I would explain but that would take too long, instead just accept the fact that we now have a means of transport and be done with the issue."
"Y-yes." they stuttered.
"But isn't it a bit too, you know… big? Won't the guards be suspicious anyway?"
"That won't be an issue." Ainz reaffirmed, looking the massive horse in the eye. It lowered its head and began to glow, shrinking until it was a bit larger than a normal horse, about three-quarters the size of its original form. "See." He remarked.
"O-oh." Raphtalia stuttered.
She wanted to ask more but was interrupted by one of Beloukas' assistants standing behind the small group "Master, we have finished our task. Two has placed the dragon in a cage and is tending to it, the wagon is waiting." They gestured behind them.
"That was quick," Hickwaal stated in amusement.
"Yes, well they have been trained for efficiency," the slaver said then looked back to his assistant. "Fetch the spare horse harness will you."
They nodded and gave a curt bow before disappearing again, returning sometime later carrying a small wooden crate filled with leather straps and chains. It took the servant a few minutes to fit the harness to the horse and hook the animal to the wagon.
A few words of goodbye were on their way towards the east castle town gate, Ainz and Raphtalia in the back with Hickwaal at the front driving. The Overlord had ordered the horse to follow the commands of the reins until they were at least beyond the observation of the walls.
Soon they came to a stop behind a long line of people and wagons. "What's going on?" Raphtalia asked, flipping the canvas cover of the wagon up to look outside.
"You have a permit for mining, do you have it on you?" Ainz inquired from behind, causing the other two to look at him.
"I do," the jeweler said, reaching under his vest and pulling out a roll of parchment. "Why do you ask Sir Shield hero?"
"Because they are going to search us, say you are transporting mining equipment for a new dig. I will take care of the rest," he said to Hickwaal then looked at the girl - who was now seated. "Stay absolutely still and breathe as softly as possible."
"Ok," She nodded firmly.
After about fifteen minutes of slow, ponderous movement, they were finally at the head of the line. Hickwaal reared the horse to move slowly towards the group of guards blocking their way. An old man and a boy who looked like he had just finished training stood before them with two rows of several men standing with spears locked in an X behind them.
"Halt!" The older man ordered, holding a hand out. He looked to be in his late fifties with a prickly grey chin and hard green eyes. "What is your purpose in leaving the capital today?"
Hickwaal smiled at the man and explained in a calm, expressive tone. "Well my good Sir, I have recently received a permit from the merchant's guild allowing me to start mining operations in the far east of Melromarc. If you need to search my wagon you will find mining equipment and supplies for the venture."
The old man nodded. "May I see this permit?" He inquired with an uncaring, bored tone.
"Ohh indeed. If you will allow me," Hickwaal smiled brightly and reached into his vest before handing the paper to the man.
The old man took it and unrolled it slowly. "That's a nice horse," he said. "It's not every day you see one like that." The knight commented as he began to read.
"Isn't he," the merchant hummed in pride. "I won him in a wager on one of my trips to Zotable a few years ago. It cost me far too much money to ship him here."
"Zotable? I see," the old knight handed the rolled parchment back. "Then why are you using it as a cart-horse If you don't mind my asking? Wouldn't a Dragon or Filolial be better?"
"Normally I would use one of them, yes." His tone shifted to one of sadness. "Unfortunately my Filolial ran away recently and my dragon unexpectedly collapsed this morning."
"That sounds rather suspect don't you think?"
"Indeed. I'm looking into it, so far I have reason to believe it to be foul play by one of my rivals, but that is business for another day. Is there anything else you need Sir or may I be on my way?"
The old knight shook his head. "Everything checks out. Just one thing left I'm afraid."
"A search?" The merchant asked with a raised Brow.
"A search." He replied and made a gesture for the boy in armor to go to the back of the wagon.
The boy nodded and jogged to the back and flung the curtain open. What he found inside was not surprising and was to be expected. At the front, neatly stacked on either side were several crates of what the young man could only assume to be foodstuffs, while littered in front of him were an assortment of dirty picks and shovels.
"Everything is good back here commander!" The boy exclaimed as he quickly returned to his spot beside the old man.
"Is there anything else I may assist you with today Sir knight?" Hickwaal asked, a nervous bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.
The knight shook his head lightly. "No, you are free to go. Enjoy your trip." He said and waved to the knights blocking the way. "Let them through."
The six of them acknowledged the order with a nod, uncrossed their spears, and took three calculated steps backward allowing enough space to fit through. Once the cart was through each man filed back in, stopping the next cart in line.
...
"Well done Sir shield hero, I'm not sure what you did but I am glad it worked," Hickwaal commented from the front of the wagon.
"It was nothing, you did rather well yourself." he replied
Raphtalia looked at him and scowled then clutched the gem hanging around her neck. ("That was not, nothing!") She exclaimed through the message.
("You are correct,") he replied sarcastically ("It was an illusion, I simply wished to keep that information to myself.")
"Hmm." she pouted. ("Then-
"Oh, thank you Sir Shield hero. When you work in a profession such as mine you have to quickly adapt to situations or it will eat you up and spit you out." Hickwall stated as he continued to drive the wagon.
"Umu, I did not expect selling gems and jewelry to be so confrontational."
"It's not just selling jewelry, it's a hostile market where you are constantly judged on the quality of your work. If your enchantments fail in the middle of a battle and the adventurer or knight lives to tell about it, you will almost definitely be shunned by your peers to the point of exile, never to work in the accessory trade again."
"Hmm, I see, and these enchantments, how do they work exactly?" The Overlord asked, shifting the conversation back to were he wanted. "I recall you saying that what I was describing was similar to them."
"Indeed! In quick, simple terms, we as accessory dealers create enchantments by bringing out the innate hidden properties of gems through the channeling of mana, these properties can be boosted further by the types of metal we use to encase them, boosting their effects." (A/n: if this is wrong I apologize but, I couldn't find any mention of how accessory creation actually worked so I extrapolated what I saw in the anime)
"I see, there is a similar technique in my world that differs slightly, it was only possible with a unique type of crystal and its effects were determined by its quality."
"Ohh, interesting, it is much the same here. Were they used in accessory creation or something else entirely?"
Ainz paused in thought for a moment then began to speak. "They were used in everything from the enchantment of items to the sealing of spells, the latter of which is the reason why I am so interested in this channeling gem."
The trader sighed. "I am not sure if the crystal will work how you want Sir shield hero. Its structure allows mana to be channeled and transformed within it, storing a spell inside is, in theory, possible but - and please do not quote me - it would require a spell that does not exist." Hickwaal paused for a moment with a thoughtful expression. "Unless you have a way of creating a multi-layered seal inside the crystal itself? Even then it could simply explode in your hand."
"Hmm, I may but-"
...
Not long after they left Raphtalia had become woozy and sick. Thankfully it was only a case of mild motion sickness that was able to be quickly remedied by stopping and allowing her to rest. To prevent it from happening again Ainz had given her a ring of poison resistance, but even so, it did not prevent them from having to stop as the odd group of monsters and bandits bared further travel, which was quickly taken care of.
After several hours they finally reached their destination just as the sun was threatening to shroud the world in dark. Two sheer twenty-meter cliffs flanked them on either side and in front of them a large temple sat, carved into the copper-colored rock.
"What are we looking for exactly? Is it inside the temple?" Ainz asked, now sitting in front directing the wagon.
"No Sir shield hero, the mining chief who told me of this place says there is a cave on the left side of the canyon, I am afraid we will have to search for it," Hickwaal said as he looked ahead.
"I see." the Overlord said, pulling up on the reins, stopping the horse, and stepping off the carriage. "Give me a moment to make our accommodations for the night, then we can look for this cave."
"As you say Sir Shield hero, but I only brought enough equipment for myself…" the merchant replied leaving his question unsaid.
"While I appreciate the thought, there is no need to worry about our accommodations." He said and stuck out a hand. [Create fortress] In the span of a few seconds the earth cracked and gave way to a tower that rose from its depths.
When the dust cloud cleared, a sense of disbelief overcame the merchant. "How did you do that?" he asked, looking up at the dark hero. Hickwaal was not a high mage by any means, but he knew enough that constructing a building of the scale and detail before him out of magic required hundreds of active participants in the spell.
"Magic." The Overlord stated the obvious, turning away from the tower to search for the cave.
A soft, feminine hand touched the merchant's shoulder. "You get used to it," Raphtalia said with a sympathetic smile then began to follow after her teacher.
"Ohh, I'm sure," he replied wryly, pondering after them.
The search was not a long one as the cave was hidden by a large human-sized crack in the stone wall, just enough for Raptahlia to fit through with a bit of effort, but given Hickwaal's… wide-bearing, he required some assistance from Ainz who had teleported through before him
"Stand back for a moment," Ainz said to the merchant. "I need to have a clear view of you," he continued.
The merchant gave a small nod and stepped back into the line of sight with the shield hero. "Ready," Hickwaal announced. Still not knowing what he was going to do, the merchant closed his eyes and stiffened his body.
[Force teleport] he heard the hero say. A brief numbness flashed through his body before he felt a tight grip on the lapels of his doublet. Opening his eyes, he looked up and saw the edge of the hero's helmet, though that's not what caused his eyes to widen.
"Look." The merchant raised his free right hand. Above them was a large, steel chain net covering the hollow silo-like hole that led down and into the cave ahead of them, in it was a massive tear like something with immense, brutal strength had forcefully ripped through it.
"Do you know what made that?" Ainz asked, letting the man down.
"From what I have been told, Sir shield hero, it is a chimera." the small man replied, straightening his vest. "It looks to be rather large too." He gestured to the massive pawprint a few steps in front of him.
"Indeed." the shield hero said, stepping towards the entrance of the cave then, suddenly paused and looked over his shoulder. "Did you bring a torch or lantern, it will be dark inside."
"No," Hickwaal's shoulders slumped. "I left it on my pack... with the wagon."
"Hmmm." Ainz hummed. "Give me a moment," he said, quickly disappearing in a flash of blue light. Hickwaal didn't even have the time to ask a question before the shield hero returned, holding a wooden stick with an alcohol-smelling cloth wrapped around its tip. "Do you have something to light it?" the Overlord asked the small man as he handed it to him.
"I - I do." The merchant stuttered in reply and raised a shaky hand in the shape of a crescent just beside the cloth. {Fast: First Flame} A small flickering flame burst to life inside Hickwaals palm and pushed it towards the torch, lighting it.
"Good." The Overlord nodded and advanced towards the mouth of the cave with Raphtalia to his left. It was an arch-shaped hole three meters high and two meters wide that stretched - from Ainz's estimate - fifty meters back into the dark. With his dark vision, the Overlord was able to see the man-made columns of stone and a single locked wooden chest at the end.
"Why do I suddenly feel like I've stumbled into a starter dungeon…"
"Do you know who used to inhabit this area?" Ainz asked, speaking the question into the air as they walked down the tunnel.
"An alchemist," Hickwaal replied, walking beside them on the right. "But I am unsure as to how long ago."
"I see," Ainz hummed. "Stay alert and look out for traps, I expect the chimera would have triggered most of them while it has used this place as its den, but even so."
They both gave a silent nod of acknowledgment and advanced forward cautiously.
The three of them continued like this until they stepped into the reinforced segment of the cave, the very same Ainz saw earlier. On the left-hand side was another adjoining tunnel, likely taking them further into the monster den. To the right of that was the wooden chest with a symbol engraved stone resting beside it.
"Can you read it?" Ainz asked, leaving the question for whoever wished to answer it. He hadn't asked Raphtalia if she could read, and was unsure of any schooling she had had besides what he had taught her himself. Hickwaal; Ainz was much less inclined to worry about considering his occupation.
The merchant stepped forward and held his torch over the block, pausing to appraise it. "It's a rather old Sir shield hero," He shrugged.
The block looked fine, with barely any wear on its symbols. "Do you mean it is in an older dialect?" The Overlord inquired, taking a step closer.
"Ohh, precisely, but there are a few words I recognize." Hickwaal pointed to the block, taping each of them as he read them off. "Beg - nobody - pain - hungry."
"That doesn't sound good," Raphtalia commented. "Are you sure that's what it says?"
"Not entirely miss," Hickwaal looked at the girl. "Some of the words may have changed meaning over time, It's very old." he reinforced.
"I see," Ainz said. "In all likelihood, it's trapped to prevent someone from stealing its contents." Saying that Ainz was never one to leave loot behind for someone else to find later on, though there were a few exceptions to that.
"I'm going to open it, you two go back to the end of the cave," Ainz ordered. "I'll let you know when it is done."
"But-" the girl began to protest.
"Do as I ask, I will be fine." The Overlord cut in with a reassuring tone. "This isn't the first time I've had to deal with an ominous treasure chest."
"As you wish sir Shield Hero, but how will you see if I may ask?" Hickwaal inquired with a skeptical look.
Ainz tapped the side of his helmet. "This helmet has a dark vision enchantment, I can see as well in the dark as I can in daylight." He lied.
Hickwaal gave a slight nod and walked back down the cave.
Raphtalia looked up at him. "There is no need to worry," Ainz placed a reassuring hand atop her head. "I'm going to use detection magic before I do anything serious. This is just a precaution in case I miss something."
She gave a silent nod and began to trail after the dimming light of the merchant's torch.
...
They had made their way back outside to wait until her teacher had finished with the odd chest they had found. Something about it made her shiver, it was like the feeling she got when she looked at Suzuki for too long but different in some way, less "there", as if distant...
"Miss Raphtalia." The merchant said, dragging her attention away from her thoughts. He had placed himself on the wall opposite her, with his back resting against it, his torch and pack at his feet.
"Yes?" She replied.
"You have been traveling with the shield hero for some time now have you not?"
"I have, about three weeks now. Why do you ask?" She inquired wryly. After what she had gone through, her trust in humans was… lacking, but this one was nice enough to talk to at least, he rarely lied, and that was good, much better than Beloukas.
"Hmm, I'm simply curious." he smiled. "The shield hero has some rather unsavory rumors circling him, and just as many to counter them, I'd prefer to hear about him from the person who has been with him the longest."
"I see, well, I guess that makes sense," she answered thoughtfully, tapping her chin with a finger. "Some of those rumors are true at least partially."
"Ohh, how do you mean?"
"He's told me people called him the devil of the shield, that's not true, he's human. I know he can be scary sometimes but that doesn't make him a devil, but then again I've never actually seen him angry…" she paused. "Unlike that "idiot" I think he called her..."
"Oh! I see. So it must be true then." Hickwaal said.
"What is?" Raphtalia asked.
"One of the circulating rumors, if I recall correctly, it was said by one of my colleagues who is in the good graces of one of the ladies of the court, Princess Malty falsely accused the shield hero of sexual assault. When he tried to defend himself, he discovered that the Princess was the instigator of the ploy; he became engaged and locked the Princess inside her own body."
Raphtalia hummed with concern. "I... see, then, she probably deserved it."
'CLICK!'
Raphtalia turned and shouted down the tunnel in concern. "Suzuki?!"
"I'm fine!" His voice boomed back and she let out the breath she didn't know she was holding in.
"Oh, so that is his name, Suzuki…"
"Wait, didn't he tell you when you met?" she trailed off when Hickwaal shook his head.
...
"Now. Let's see," he said to himself, readying the shield in front of him, a small thin purple dome forming around him. He held a hand out with a bent elbow pointing at the chest "[Detect Magic]" he cast and waited for a reaction, good or bad.
Nothing happened, beyond receiving a reaction from the item inside the chest. "[Greater detect magic]" he cast again, nothing but the same reaction as before. Ainz was confident he could survive any trap still attached to the chest, but still, he would not leave it to chance.
His Shield still held in place, he shifted his arm downward and a purple magic circle formed in front of his palm.
"[Necrotic Sludge]" Out of the darkness of the cave a purple glowing mass of negative energy formed. This creature could be considered a slime by normal standards with all the abilities and resistances of its "living" counterparts, but there was one thing different about it and the reason why Ainz had summoned it; it had the ability to pick non-magical locks.
The sludge - having received its orders - slowly moved its way over and to the chest where it crawled up its front side and sunk into the lock, a second later an audible click echoed through the chamber and down the cave where it hit the ears of the two waiting at its end.
"Suzuki?!" Raphtalia called out.
"I'm fine," Ainz replied just as loud and went back to scrutinizing the chest. From the crack that formed as it hung open, he saw a flow of leaking green gas. "Likely some type of poison." he mused, not needing to worry about it himself.
The Overlord relaxed his stance, lowered the shield, and advanced towards the chest, his armor clinking against itself as he moved. Once in front of it, he flipped the lid and released its poisonous contents into the air of the cave. A few seconds later a soft thud echoed to his left where the other tunnel started, turning and looking down he saw a bat-like creature with a metallic tail flapping around erratically on the ground, screeching in pain.
Ainz simply let it die, he'd examine it later. He returned his gaze back to the chest and began examining its contents. "A seed," he said, slightly annoyed, his HUD recognized it as {plant monster seed}
Ainz took a knee and reached towards the seed, casting another [Greater detect magic] as he moved his arm. Again, he received no reaction and picked it up and deftly put the object inside his dimensional storage, he'd leave its appraisal for later when he had more time. He had a job to do.
He quickly stepped back up and began to pull his arm out of his inventory, closing the rift instantly, without so much as a sound.
The Overlord looked back up the tunnel to see his two companions waiting for him at the entrance.
"What was in the chest?" Asked Raphtalia as he approached.
"A seed that I will examine later," Ainz replied. "Hickwaal, do you have any accessories to deal with or prevent poisonous effects?"
"I do Sir Suzuki." The small man replied, tapping the green gem on his chest "This should do nicely."
"I hope so, the poison seems to be very painful. Follow me." the Overlord said and walked back into the cave. Before his companions did the same they each momentarily gave the other a worrisome look and fell in behind him.
"Stay close there is something else in this cave, besides the chimera," Ainz said, approaching the poison-filled room.
"What kind of "something else"?" Raphtalia asked as she looked around trying to find something that she couldn't see before.
"Bats." he pointed to the twitching corpse on the ground. "Do you know what it is?"
Raphtalia shook her head as Hickwaal carefully moved closer to examine the creature. "I'm afraid I am unfamiliar with this type, Sir Suzuki."
"I see," Ainz said as he picked it up by the wing and fed it to the shield.
Attention! Voice Gengar shield (bat form) Unlocked
Ainz readjusted himself and waved for them to continue forward down the branching part.
They walked for a short few moments down the long dark tunnel, the light from Hickwaals torch illuminating their way, the sounds of their muffled steps echoing against the cave while bats began to detach from their perches on the roof
Ainz waved his hands at three of the creatures as they began to flap annoyingly around his head, continued walking, and stopped when he was the only one to be heard.
"No! You're wrong!" Raphtalia's desperate voice found its way to his ears.
With a quick, almost blurred movement Ainz turned around, narrowed his eyes, and focused on the bats flying around Raphtalia's head. They seemed to be hiding behind a low-level illusion, but it was nothing he couldn't see through with ease.
He approached and closed both his massive fists around the two bats crushing them with a wet 'crunch', bits of deep purple blood and bone exploding away and splashing on the walls of the cave. Ainz looked over to Hickwall, he was looking off into space, three of the pests flapping around the merchant's head - he did the same to them.
"What did you see?" Ainz asked.
Raphtalia shook her head with closed eyes. "It wasn't a vision, it was a voice." she looked at him. "It was your voice…" she trailed off, clearly not wanting to repeat what she heard.
Ainz looked back at Hickwaal. "You?" he asked the small man.
"My father… my mentor," he said.
Ainz turned back and looked down the tunnel, it was about eighty meters to its end by his estimate, a wall of dim green light flowing in from around the corner to illuminate the cave only slightly, on top of the roof of the long corridor was hundreds of the bat-like creatures hang upside down with red eyes peering at them. He had let them be until now thinking nothing of them until now.
With a nod to himself, he stuck his right arm out, his hand mimicking a gun, and a small orange magic circle formed at the tips of his two fingers. With a whisper, he incanted [Incineration]. A small iridescent flame formed at the tips of his fingers where the rotating circle of magic had been, then, with a whistle, exploded into a roar of powerful flame stretching the distance of the hall in an instant, bathing the whole cave in light, turning all the creatures to ash with a brief squeal of pain before it was over.
Hickwaal poked his head out from behind the Shield hero and looked down the hall. The top, right and left walls were glowing a deep orange while the floor was completely black from the ash or soot, probably both.
"Everyone okay?" Ainz asked, looking at them. Raphatalia nodded and Hickwaal did the same. "Good, let's move," he said and began to pace forward.
"Do you have a plan to fight the chimera?" Hickwaal asked worry and nervousness in his voice.
"I do," Ainz said.
"You're going to fight it?" Hickwaal asked, the worry gone, the nervousness not so much.
"No," he stopped, turned, and placed a hand atop Raphtalias bushy brown head. "She is."
"Ehh?" she stammered, her eyes wide and focused to a point. "But-"
Ainz shook his head "Depending on its level of strength... you won't be doing it without help on my part,"
"I think the same buffs I gave you during that incident in the mine should work out."
"Wait! mine, with the dog? That was you?!" She exclaimed, her previous expression gone, and replaced with one of confusion and…
She remembered it as if it was yesterday, she had gotten lost in the cave, left behind as Suzuki disappeared from sight, she had called out for him, she did, almost running herself horus in the process, so when she finally heard heavy footsteps and the rumbling of metal coming in her direction she felt relief only to fell horror as what she believed to be hope around the corner and snarl at her with menacing, sharp teeth.
She ran, ran as fast as her little legs would carry her, but it wasn't enough! She had gotten lost three corridors ago and the monster was on her tail. Figuratively and literally.
She had no choice but to stop and try to catch her breath. She heard the rumbling growl again before the monster pounced and pinned her to the ground.
Again it laughed at her with a white teethed growl.
Her eyes widened in despair before they grew wider to dinner plates as several shades of light began to glow around her body, every modicum of fear seemed to go with its coming.
Even now she remembered the way her small body felt as if it were made of magic iron, the way power surged through it. It gave her the courage she needed to take a step forward, the first of many into her new world.
Time began to slow for her, and the two-headed dog began to part its jaws, then, almost as if on instinct she folded her arms in and used her hips to wobble her around until her whole body was in the shadow of the monsters two front legs, quickly she grabbed the knife from her belt and held it pointing straight up, its flat pommel resting against her chest.
It tried to bite her of course it did, but whatever the light surrounding her body was caused it pain, then before the monster could even understand what was happening to it, her free hand and legs pushed out with everything she had and split the Monsters stance, unable to support its own weight at the angle its legs were forced to, it had no other option but to cercom to gravity and collapse onto the seven-inch blade.
It died in a yowl of pain as its heart was pierced.
After a few minutes or hours, she couldn't tell the difference at the time, her teacher arrived to pull the body off her.
…
Ainz nodded, "I was with you the whole time." Ainz continued, ignoring her hurt pout. "I was happy with the way you handled it."
She half-turned back to him with an annoyed expression, "I just used what you taught me." She whispered.
"You did, glad you paid attention. Even if it was a bit unorthodox." He said with an amused undertone and began a steady pace to the light at the end of the tunnel.
When they finally reached the edge of the light Ainz stopped and held up a fist signaling them to do the same, he ducked his head slightly around the corner and took note of a few things within.
The first was the crystals, they were massive, easily as big as himself, and a hundred times larger than any crystal from Yggdrasil.
The second was the glow, the entire room/cave/deposit was illuminated by the low hum green that emanated from a combination of the crystals and water within.
Curious, he activated [Mana Sense] and found that the larger crystals, in particular, had a small-thin aura encapsulating them, flowing upwards and away from their smooth angular tops, filling the whole cave with mana. He briefly wondered if lei-lines were a thing in this world, another question to add to a long list of others...
His eyes shifted to the third, the monster who held ownership over this place, "A Chimera?" he thought then looked at it again, no that's not what it was… this was a monster he recognized from Yggdrasil as well as the New World, though he hadn't seen one in a long time he still recognized what it was.
"A Nue," he said, giving voice to his thoughts.
"A what, Sir Suzuki?" The merchant asked from the right of Raphtalia, who herself was to the right of Ainz.
"A Nue." He replied and stood up, "It's a sub-species of Chimera, this one is a bit different to the ones I've fought in the past so I am unsure of its capabilities, but I'm certain it is a Nue. I'll be back in a moment, stay quiet."
Before Hickwaal could even sound his protest, Ainz had already disappeared from view.
Ainz closed in on the creature and stopped to observe it more thoroughly with the help of [Perfect Unknowable], he was correct in his assumption that it was, indeed, a Nue.
He quickly cast [discern enemy] and several bits of information flooded into his mind along with a few memories. In Yggdrasil, Nue were used as mid Level mini-bosses inside of low-level dungeons and varied in levels from 25-50 based on difficulty selection, they typically relied on AOE-based fire, lightning, and poison attacks and were immune to all of them respectively.
But their one glaring weakness and also its single greatest strength, sound. They could sense invisible targets up to the sixth tier but be at the same time vulnerable to sound-based attacks. He recalled his failed attempts to kill one in some of his early dungeon diving in Yggdrasil, but after some testing and a bit of research he found that all he would have to do to defeat or stun one would be to use the fourth tier spell [Sonic boom] with the [Maximize Magic] meta-magic, and often than not a he would literally just roll over them.
Here, he doubted that could happen with Raphtalia. She was still weak and while she was at least passable with a sword she still lacked experience fighting monsters like this one, one similar to the monster of her nightmares and if his HUD was to be believed - fifteen levels higher than her.
In Yggdrasil and the New World, that would be a death sentence no matter how many buffs one stacked on one's self, to even fight a player five levels higher than you, you would require five others of the same level as yourself.
That didn't seem to be the case in this world - at least from what he's seen so far. A "level" seemed to be more of a guideline to what actually mattered, the stats. For example, someone who was level 4 and had an attack stat of 200 would almost always win against someone who was level 6 but only had an attack stat of 150. But if the level 6 had a defense stat higher than 200 it would probably sway more in their favor. It was frustrating to even think about...
When he became a "hero" upon transferring to this world his Yggdrasil stats had - from what he could tell - been converted into this world's statistical read-outs. Simply put, to say he was busted would have been an understatement.
Having gathered all the information he could on the creature - which was pacing side to side in some sort of territorial display, its teeth snarled, its eyes focused - he returned to his spot where the others were waiting.
"What did you find, Sir Suzuki?" Hickwaal asked as Ainz dispelled his invisibility.
Raphtalia looked up at him, her eyes worried but had hints of determination.
"It will be a tough fight." The Overlord stated matter of factly and sighed.
"Is this another experiment?" Raphtalia asked, this time with an incredulous expression.
Ainz nodded. "Yes. And before you ask, I want to see what kind of level boost you will get from an enemy whose level is so far above your own."
"How far above is it?"
"Fifteen," Ainz said.
"..."
The Overlord sighed, took a step towards Raphtalia, took a knee, and raised a hand over her head. "As I said before, you will not be doing it without some help on my behalf. [Draconic Power], [Greater Hardening], [Infinity Wall], [Greater Full Potential], [Paranormal Intuition], [Greater resistance], [Indomitability], [Sensor boost], [Absorption], [Penitrait up] [Mirror reaction] [Body of effulgent Aqua-marine], [Body off effulgent Sapphire], [Body of effulgent Emerald], [Body of effulgent Ruby]"
"I-it feels like that time…" Raphtalia said, closing and opening her firsts, getting a feel for the power now flowing through her.
"Yes, well, these are the same spells I used on you in the mine, but in this instance, I've accounted for the attacks used by the Nue, though this much is probably overkill." The Overlord shrugged and moved to the side.
"My self and Hickwaal will be inside to observe, do you remember what I have said about fighting felines?"
"I think so… "They're not like dogs, they're more nimble and have a wider range of motion, so their weak spots are the tendons and joints." Is that right?" Raphtalia said.
"That's not all of what I said, but it will do," Ainz said, and with a wave of his left hand, a small representation of the creature appeared in front of him. You will also have to account for the hearing, tail and any element it may use." He continued, pointing at its rear end. "I would suggest disabling the tail first as it's likely to be the greatest hindrance in the fight."
With focused eyes, Raphtalia began to take in the image, its legs, its tail, how far it could likely reach, and just to be sure she asked: "What else?"
"Disabling its sensory abilities would help - its eyes and ears specifically, but you should consider them secondary objectives and aren't necessary for you to successfully kill it. Also, I suspect that it can use lightning, fire, and poison attacks, I accounted for those in the spells I've cast on you but that is no excuse to become complacent. Getting hit will still hurt."
"Are you sure about this Sir shield hero?" Hickwaal asked, "She is only just a girl."
Ainz turned his head to look at the short man while the aforementioned "girl" gave him an offended look.
Ainz began, his voice more deep and regal than before. "If I believed she could not do it I would have killed it the moment I walked in there. This is what you would call a learning experience for her, she has not fought a creature of this size and type before," he paused. "If she is in trouble I will step in."
Hickwaal simply nodded and remained quite
"Good." Ainz nodded and turned back to Raphtalia, "Do you want to use the shield?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure," she replied and tilted her head in contemplation. "Yes"
...
Suzuki gave her a curt nod, pulled the dark purple shield out of the darkness he used to store things, and handed it to her. She took it, placed it on the ground against her leg, and reached her right hand to the sword resting within the scabbard on her left hip.
When the sword was firmly fastened in her grip she picked up the shield with her left and held it aloft. Nodded, more to herself than those around her, and moved around the corner and froze.
"It is big." She thought. Time seemed to slow for the girl, it wasn't the first time that it's happened and it probably won't be the last.
She took the inexplicable moment to observe the monster, its razor-sharp fangs, and claws, its white-haired main buzzing with lightning, the wriggling green snake tail and the defined bulging muscles of its front and back legs, all of them separately could kill her and together they made up something similar to the creature that plagued her nightmares.
A sense of realization hit her, this was one of Suzuki's experiments of that she was sure - he'd told her - but it wasn't just that, everything he'd sent her against, everything he had made her fight by herself had in at least some construed way looked like the monster that had destroyed her village and killed her parents and narrowly missed her.
He was trying to help her… determination flooded her being and uprooted her from the ground, with an explosive force she ran toward the monster with her shield held up and her sword in a neutral position.
The monster seemed to take offense to that simple act and pounced with a roar, swiping its right paw in an attempt to bat her away. What Raphtalia lacked in height and strength she made up in speed and intelligence, she quickly stopped, ducked down, and swung her sword up and to the right along the bottom of the creature's extended arm, cutting deep into the hide and muscle and bone.
Its heavy paw ripped itself free in a splatter of blood from what little flesh connected it to its owner and flew out into some unseen corner of the cave. She quickly made some distance between herself and the monster, backing off a few steps.
Copious amounts of blood began to spill from its wound as It roared at her again, flaring its long sharp spear-like teeth, its monkey face wrinkling into a wrathful expression.
Then, it looked at the stump of its arm and it lowered its head. She wondered what it was doing and by the time she realized it had already latched onto her. It had done it in an instant, faster than her eyes could perceive, the snake had latched onto her shoulder, sinking its fangs deep into her flesh.
She was shocked, she should have screamed, she should have felt pain… and yet, she didn't. She felt nothing, almost as if the act itself hadn't happened at all... then something did, a green glow surrounded her then phased her out of existence, then back into it what would have been a few steps back had she taken them at all then shattered like glass.
The Nue, she noticed, seemed confused, almost dazed by the non-attack. She pushed everything she had into her next attack, her muscles coiled, tightening to an almost painful degree, and sprung forward!
The serpentine tail had retreated back, but not by much. She knew... she knew that if she didn't disable that tail here it would result in her downfall before long. She swung down with an overhead slash and... missed, but continued forward nonetheless as the sword's momentum carried it into the monster's sneering face, cutting it from forehead to nose.
It roared in pain and struck out with a blast of lightning that for an instant filled the entire cave and shattered the new blue aura that encased her body.
She quickly backed up and watched as blood began to pour violently from the incision in the monster's head, dyeing its eyes and mouth red.
A wave of disappointment and anger flowed through her. She was going to need to play this slow, perhaps bait the tail into attacking.
She raised her shield, holding it close with a firm grip.
Slowly she stepped to the side, circling left, and it followed, but not as quickly or in the way she expected. It took a moment as if struggling to follow her then reared onto its hind legs slightly and pushed left with its front right paw.
She didn't display any outward expression - Suzuki had said that showing signs of emotion in a bout can give away your next move. - but she was ecstatic! She had effectively cut the main body's mobility in half with that opening move and blinded it with the next!
But there was still that damn snake… which was staring at her, its long-form watching her - she circled back right - following her…!
She tested its perception by stepping in and was rewarded as it again reared back and took a swipe at her with its remaining front paw.
She deftly used the shield to block the blow and at the same time attempted a thrust at its undefended chest, but the force behind it proved too much for her body as it buckled under her.
Tumbling along the blood-soaked ground, she used the moment to right herself and stopped, only to be met with another hit from the clawed paw of the monster, as it followed through. This was going to hurt…
The blades of bone tore into her left arm before she could raise the shield to catch it, and again another of the magic aura's shattered and moved her out of harm's way.
She jumped back onto her blood-coated feet and moved back out of the way of the next blow she knew was coming.
But it didn't, the Nue had stopped, its face locked into an expression of something between pain, anger, and regret. Then slumped over. Dead.
Tentatively she approached it, she didn't do that, did she? It was losing blood that much she was sure of, but to simply die like that, it felt… unrewarding, even, unearned.
"It's dead," Suzuki said as he approached.
"I know… but, how?" She asked, not looking away from her "kill".
"I assume it was riding some kind of adrenaline rush from the beginning of the fight when it ran out of blood to lose, it had a heart attack and died."
She turned and gave him a glare. "Did you...?"
"No," he shook his head. "I was content to stay back and observe until you asked for or needed my help." He continued. "On that note, you did well all things considered."
"What do you mean by that?" She huffed.
"I'll elaborate when we are alone." He said, inclining his head towards the approaching merchant.
She gave him an understanding look, then when he nodded back she walked her way over to one of the large crystals that sat flat along the ground. A good a place to sit as any.
She looked at the corps of the Nue again and let out an annoyed grunt.
Well, that's it for now. I hoped you enjoyed it, hopefully, it won't take six months to release the next one, so I'll see you when I see you.
Also, I thought I'd give you a bit of a look inside my head with regards to character perspective. I mostly wanted to follow Ainz's perspective until after the first wave (which I'm going to start rewriting once I release this one). From then on I'm planning on different character perspectives with each chapter because the first wave will change a lot of things and I do mean that. But you saw some parts in this chapter from Raphtalia's perspective, tell me how you think I went!
