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Volume 1: The Pecking Order

Chapter 5

XXXXXXX (A.N The line breaks sometimes don't work so I'll try using these from now on)

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Moknach was having a very, very bad day.

Scratch that, today was probably the worst day of his life.

The day had started relatively well. After he woke up his teammates, they headed out from the inn to the Adventurers' Guild. They had checked the mission board but found no requests for their level.

That was a good thing though. After all, Moknach and his adventurer team, Rainbow, were Mithril ranked adventurers.

In the city of E-Rantel, where Rainbow was based out of, there were three Mithril ranked teams, Rainbow, Kralgra, and Sky Wolf, and they were the highest ranked adventurers that the city had. Thus, all of the truly dangerous and most important missions went to them.

So, the absence of any requests for their level meant that all was good in the city.

Still, it was a little boring having to sit around just waiting for trouble.

After checking the board, Moknach and his team went to go sit with the other adventurers and listen to the latest gossip.

Of course one of the hot topics in the guild had been the death of the Warrior Captain, Gazef Stronoff, and his men, but there was also those who talked about the friction among the ruling class due to a succession crisis. It was common knowledge that Marquis Boullope and Count Lytton supported the Crown Prince Barbro, while Marquis Pespea, and Margrave Urovana were both well known supporters of the second prince, Zanac. It was unknown, however, who both Marquis Raeven, and Marquis Blumrush supported.

There were a lot of speculations about what those two were up to, but, in the end, they were only speculations.

However, the hottest topic in E-Rantel right now was the death of the renowned alchemist Lizzie Bareare and the disappearance of her grandson Nfirea.

It had been only a day ago when a would be customer found the famous alchemist lying dead in her own shop. The news sent the city into an uproar as people tried to find the culprit. There were also many who brought forward unsavory rumors that Nfirea has been the one to kill the famous alchemist. After all, he had disappeared at the same time she was killed. These rumors, however, were shot down almost immediately by any who had known the two of them. It was then concluded that whoever killed Lizzie had kidnapped her grandson.

Time flew by for Moknach as he listened for any new information. Soon the sun was beginning to set outside. It was then decided between him and his team that they would stay for a round or two of drinks before heading back to the inn.

It was only an hour after sunset when one of the city's guardsmen barged in the door, panting as he spoke.

"I...it's the...undead!...The undead...are attacking!" He spoke in an urgent tone before collapsing on the floor face first.

His statement sent the guild into a frenzy as the teams grouped up and readied themselves for combat.

In a showcase of true professionalism, all the teams above the copper rank were ready to go after only two minutes had passed. All the teams then set out to defend the city.

The adventurers were separated into three groups, each led by one of the Mithril ranked teams.

After setting out into the city the adventurers were greeted with a scene straight out of a nightmare. Bodies of both unholy abominations and civilians alike littered the streets, their blood and guts glistening in the light of the full moon. Screams from both civilians and their undead pursuers pierced the otherwise quiet night. The adventurers could also see the undead abominations feasting upon civilians both living and dead.

The sights and the sounds proved to be too much for some of the newer adventurers, who subsequently puked their guts out. Moknach and his team, however, only sent prayers to the victims in front of them. They, unlike the newer adventurers, had been hardened by years of hardships and witnessing some pretty awful scenes. This scene, however, was probably the worst they had encountered in their careers. Thus, Moknach didn't think poorly of those who threw up at the sight of this tragedy.

After collecting themselves, the adventurers hurled themselves at the monsters ahead of them.

"[Magic Arrow]!"

"[Front Cut]!"

"[Middle Cure Wounds]!"

The adventurers used spells of both healing and of the the arcane along with their martial arts to combat the undead. Slowly, but surely, the three groups of adventurers had pushed back the undead to the gates of the cemetery.

"We can win this! Hah. I'm going to need to buy my comrades a round of drinks tomorrow." Moknach internally spoke to himself as he cut down another undead, a putrid smelling zombie, which had the scraps of what had once been clothing covering the rotting flesh that remained over its bones.

The adventurers let loose a cry of victory as the last of undead around the gates were slain.

"...Did we win?"

"Take that you undead freaks!"

"May the four guide you on the next stage of your journey."

The voices of the adventurers were filled with hope as they observed the broken forms of their foes and and the lack of anymore coming toward them.

Moknach, however, had a bad feeling that this wasn't over just yet. His fears turned out to be well founded when the laughing started.

"Hahahaha...you puny adventurers haven't won. No, nothing will stop me from reaching immortality!" A man revealed himself by dispelling an invisibility spell. The man, at least Moknach thought he was human, resembled a corpse with his pale, stretched skin, and his misshaped head. He was clad in a crimson robe and was wearing a necklace decorated with bones. He also carried a purple orb in one hand that gave off an unsettling vibe.

The man looked like every bit of the necromancer he was.

"So, I presume that you are the instigator of tonight's heinous events?" Moknach stepped forward as he spoke.

"Indeed I am. But I'm not finished just yet, after all, I still need to plunge the rest of this pathetic city into the abyss of death." The man spoke once more in an arrogant tone that frankly pissed Moknach off.

"By yourself? Hah! You necromancers really aren't that bright, are you?" This time it was Igvarge, the leader of Kralgra who spoke in an equally arrogant tone.

"Oh but you are mistaken fool. Behold my supreme power! [Skeletal Dragon]!" The man bellowed out the last part of his speech, and answering his words, a massive [Skeletal Dragon] descended from the sky, positioning itself in front of its summoner.

"No way..."

"A [Skeletal Dragon]! How are we supposed to beat that?!"

"It's hopeless...we can't beat such a powerful undead."

The adventurers, from copper plates all the way to Mithril ranked, were all filled with despair. Even Moknach.

"A [Skeletal Dragon]! How are we supposed to beat one of those! All our magic casters will be useless against it!...Then we'll just have to beat this monster to death!" Moknach regained his courage just in time to hear the necromancer speak.

"Hahahaha! So now you see it's useless to resist! My [Skeletal Dragon] is immune to all magic! You cannot win! Why don't you just lie down and die, after all, there's no way for you to win! Hahahaha! [Skeletal Dragon]! Kill them all!" In response to it's master's orders, the dragon then let loose a roar as it barreled toward the gathered adventurers.

Most of the adventurers managed to evade in time, but many of the lower ranked adventurers died right off the bat. This only amplified the despair in the hearts of the adventurers.

"We need to run!"

"Screw it! I'm not throwing my life away for nothing!"

"There's no point is there?"

Moknach began to get frustrated at the words of his fellow adventurers. They were not supposed to be cowards! No, they were supposed to protect the people from monsters like this. His irritation rising, Moknach choose to speak his thoughts out loud.

"Shut up all of you! It is our duty to protect the people of this city! So we must not run away, no, we will fight to the last! Warriors to me! Magic casters, stay behind and protect the priests. Let's kill this bastard and his pet! Arghhh!" Hearing his cry, the adventurers were filled with new hope and vigor as they scrambled to fulfill his orders.

It took some time and many of the lives of their comrades, but they finally managed to bring the beast down. In the end, only 20 warriors remained out of the adventurers, but the end was in sight.

"Hmmm...color me impressed, I didn't expect weaklings like you to be to take down my dragon. It's of no consequence though. Behold foolish adventurers! Behold how pointless your struggle is!" After he spoke, the necromancy rose up the orb in his hand as it glowed an even brighter purple.

Then, cracks began to form on the ground. From these cracks another [Skeletal Dragon] rose up. It was in this moment that the adventurers understood that they were doomed. They barely managed to kill one, and now there was a second! They stood no chance.

Without warning, the dragon sped toward the remaining adventurers, tearing them to pieces.

"Well damn. I just hope that we bought enough time for the civilians to escape."

Those were Moknach's last thoughts before a massive skeletal foot crushed him into paste.

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Javanar Antalya was very nervous at that moment.

Javanar was a member of the Stone Eater tribe, and was now living in the Zoastia village. This of course, was due to his and his tribe's new lord, Ainz Ooal Gown.

Javanar knew very little about his new lord. He was strong, that he knew. Javanar did see him kill Halisha like he was nothing after all. But other than that, Javanar didn't really know much else about his new lord, except of course his lord's physical attributes. It would take a fool to not recognize that he was an undead.

Javanar, however, was no fool. No, rather, he was considered to be one of the smartest members of his tribe. In fact, whenever Halisha decided to let go of his arrogance for a little bit, he called him to his side to provide his thoughts on possible actions that the tribe could take.

But now Javanar was using every last brain cell in his head to plan out his upcoming fights.

It had been two days ago that Vijar, the 'Demon Claw', or as the inhabitants of the village had begun calling him, 'Death's Hand', had announced that their lord had called for a tournament. One that would be fought by the Stone Eaters exclusively. That was only natural though, after all, the victor of the tournament would become the new leader of the Stone Eaters. They would, however, still defer to lord Ainz of course.

Javanar had decided to enter this tournament because he stood only to gain. After all, he didn't really even have to worry about his life due to his lord's decree that none would die during this tournament. That move had gained some disgruntled mutterings, but none had voiced any real complaints. Their lord, after all, was strong, stronger than all of them, and could thus enforce his will over them as much as he wanted to.

It was then that Javanar was given the notice that his first bout was next. He then began going over what he knew about potential opponents he might face.

It didn't take too long for Javanar to be ushered into the makeshift arena. The arena itself was a simple dirt circle enclosed by a chest-high wooden wall at the bottom of the hill that village was built upon. The spectators had been given raised dirt rows on the hill to sit upon. On the side of the arena away from the village sat Javanar's new lord along with both Vijar and Muar of the Zoastia. His lord was seated on a simple yet finely carved wooden throne while Vijar and Muar were standing on his right and left respectively.

Javanar gulped as he felt his lord's bony visage bore into him, leaving him with a feeling that he could see right through him. Shaking away his nervousness, Javanar then turned to his opponent.

He immediately recognized him, he was Machalee, a Stone Eater who was on the shorter side of the spectrum, but not one to be underestimated due to his powerful natural abilities.

The announcer, Vijar, then spoke.

"Combatants! Do give us a good show! May on the strongest win! Now begin!" As soon as Vijar finished, Machalee sped forward toward Javanar.

Javanar was expected this though.

Javanar sidestepped Machalee's charge with the grace of a dancer. Machalee then stumbled as he tried to turn around himself to face Javanar. Javanar took advantage of this however.

"[Power Claw]!" Javanar called out the name of his martial art as he hit Machalee in the side, drawing blood as he did so.

"Aghhhh!" Machalee let out a noise of pain as he collapsed on the ground, defeated.

"Haha!" Javanar let loose a noise of triumph after defeating his opponent quite handily.

The crowd roared in approval. While the match had been short, it was an excellent showcase of strength on Javanar's part, something which demihumans ate up.

Javanar was then escorted out of the arena so that he could prepare for his next fight.

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This was it, the final fight. Javanar was nervous still, but he also had confidence that he could win this fight.

After defeating Machalee, Javanar went on to defeat another four opponents before finally making it here, to the final match.

Javanar was then called up for one final time.

As soon as both combatants reached the center of the arena Vijar began to speak.

"This is it, the final match. Remember, whomever wins this will become the next leader of the Stone Eater tribe. May only the strongest remain! Begin!" The crowd roared in approval once more in response to Vijar's words.

As the two combatants started to circle one another, Javanar took note of who his opponent was. He was known as Tezee. Tezee was a tall Stone Eater, easily half a head taller than Javanar. His fur was a dark brown and his eyes were green. He also carried a sword while Javanar held no weapon.

Javanar knew that he would need to be cautious when dealing with Tezee. After all, it was well known that Tezee, like him, knew martial arts, and, also like him, had been trained by Halisha personally.

Javanar decided that he would wait for Tezee to attack, and it turned out that he didn't need to wait that long for Tezee to get ready.

"[Ability Boost, [Greater Ability Boost]." Tezee spoke the names of his martial arts before charging forward toward Javanar, sword at the ready.

"[Evasion]!" Javanar used a martial art to evade Tezee's attack. He then quickly counter attacked.

"[Power Claw]!" Using the same martial art he used to defeat Machalee, Javanar managed to tear into the skinon Tezee's back.

Tezee, however, wouldn't be beaten so easily.

"[Slashing Strike]!" Tezee used a martial art as he turned his body halfway, looking to cut Javanar in half with this strike.

Javanar knew he wouldn't be able to evade, so, rather than try futilely to evade, Javanarchoose to defend.

"[Reinforce Hide]!" After using the martial art, Tezee's sword bit into Javanar's side, but only a little bit, just enough to draw blood. But now Tezee was completely open, and Javanar wasn't going to waste this opportunity.

"[Iron Fist]!" Javanar's strike landed solidly onto Tezee's face, knocking him out and down to the ground.

The crowd's cheers were deafening as they applauded his victory. The were quieted, however, when their lord rose up from his throne to speak.

"You have proven yourself worthy of serving me and leading your people. Congratulations Javanar Antalya, leader of the Stone Eaters, on your victory. I look forward to working with you in the future." At this, his lord sat down once more, and as he did socrowd's cheering began once again.

Javanar himself was elated! He won! He really did it!

He was overcome with feelings of accomplishment and excitement as he soaked in the crowd's approval.

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Ainz was pretty happy.

"Operation less work for Vijar is completed. Still need to work on a better name for these things in the future." Ainz sighed internally. "Well, hopefully things will be quiet from now on and I can manage my new 'company' in peace."

Ainz did not know at that time how much his hopes on this matter would be crushed.

"Nice and quiet, yeah I would really love that."