Author's Note: Special thanks to Ozpin98 for pointing out that I got the name of the 4th Floor's guardian wrong. Not quite sure how I did, but I'mma go ahead and blame the VN translations I used, lol. This issue has since been fixed, though please do bear in mind that I'm very bad at editing. If you find any instances where Gargantua's still being called Colossus, please do point them out and I'll deal with them. :)
I'd also like to thank Gaming Masters of The Wall for pointing out that stats above 100 register as "limit exceeded" in canon, so, in light of this information, I fixed Naruto's stat card... again.
And with that outta the way, holy shit! I was not expecting this fanfic to explode the way it did! More than 20 reviews, multiple PMs, and over three-fucking-hundred notifications of favorites and follows, all in the first three days?! I gotta say, this gave me a much-needed shot of vigor. I've been struggling with some later chapters of this fanfic that I've been writing in advance. But, that boost of energy and enthusiasm gave me some much-needed inspiration for those chapters.
So, yeah, it goes without saying that this fanfic series will be going on for a while, so y'all have nothing to worry about. If I have anything to say about it, this story with continue to completion. And at the pace it's going right now, that will be in a few years. Not that I intend to keep going this slowly. I am in the process of editing a lot of those pre-written chapters in advance so I can start updating more frequently. But, that'll take some time, especially with life getting in the way.
Pretty sure I've bored you guys for long enough with this AN, though, so on with the fic!
Chapter Three: Confrontation
The old man who was apparently serving as this village's de facto chief for the time being lived in a quaint, little hovel near the village square. It was sparsely furnished and what few personal effects he had were entirely functional. The house itself, meanwhile, was all one big room, reminding Naruto of his studio apartment in the... real world?
The other one?
Questions for later…
The room was exclusively illuminated by natural light from the windows, though they did their job well enough, and a rickety table sat in the center of it all.
Naruto eyeballed the woman, presumably this guy's wife, slaving away at the fireplace and then took a gander at the farming tools. As expected, there wasn't much of anything in the way of modern technology, though it did beg the question of how magic would affect this world's development if it hasn't already.
The woman herself, like her presumed husband, was remarkably toned for her age, at least by Naruto's standards. It really put into perspective how rough a medieval farm life could be in comparison to that of the modern-day peasantry.
Naruto and Albedo took a seat while the elderly man sat before them.
"What is it you wish to know?"
"As much as you can give," Naruto told him. "The lay of the land. The nation. The leaders. Anything you can tell us." He sighed, taking a moment to choose his words and continued. "To say that I'm not from around here is an understatement." He paused a bit, letting his words sink in and then shifted to his true form, all nine tails and his vulpine ears fading into existence, his pupils slitting and irises glowing. "I was passing myself off as a human because I didn't want to startle everyone while dealing with those bastards."
The man and woman could only stare.
"Truth be told, Albedo and I are from another world entirely," Naruto said. "Our home ended up in this world and we want to figure out how, but to do that, we first need to know where... 'here' is for lack of a better way to put it."
"Uh… right," the old man replied hesitantly, not quite knowing how to react. "Given what you've done for us, that's the least we could do." He caught himself before he could stare at Naruto's tails, not wanting to be rude. "Forgive me, but, if you don't mind me asking… what are you, exactly?"
"I am what is known as a kitsune, a race of fox-people with the ability to shapeshift," Naruto explained. "My wife and I are from Niflheim. You probably wouldn't have heard of it." Assuming this wasn't a Nordic world? Naruto saw no indications that it was.. though said culture wasn't very visually distinct from the rest of Europe in the medieval period from what he could tell, so it was hard to say for sure.
"I can assure you that I haven't," the man told him, looking just a little overwhelmed. "Well, to start, you are in Carne Village, part of the Re-Estize Kingdom. To the south is the Slane Theocracy and to the west is the Baharuth Empire, which is where the men who attacked us are from if that armor is anything to go by."
"Safe to assume that they're at war with the kingdom, then," Naruto mused aloud.
"It would appear that they are now; the Kingdom and the Empire clash regularly, but an outright invasion like this hasn't happened in some time as far as I'm aware."
So they have a potential enemy. And it's an empire. Great… he hoped it was nothing like the empires of old… Naruto was far more of a ninja-otaku than a general history guy, but even he knew that'd be a pain in his ass. If this Baharuth Empire, which Nazarick now bordered as well, was anything like the Roman Empire, then Naruto's just had another reason to focus on gathering information and bolstering the Great Tomb's defenses. (1)
Hiding his worry as best he could, Naruto rubbed his chin with a thoughtful frown. "I see," he said. "Please continue."
The old man nodded and did just that…
Once Naruto and Albedo left the de facto chief's house, they'd learned quite a bit about this new world.
Like in Yggdrasil, this world had multiple races and monsters of all sorts―dwarves, elves, goblins, orcs, ogres, and the like. Something called "The Wise King of the Forest" also apparently lived somewhere in the Great Forest of Tob. No one knew what the hell it was, though, so they should probably look into that.
Given her skillset, Naruto decided that he should send Aura in there to do so and find out what else might be hiding in there.
Also, according to the de facto chief, E-Rantel was the biggest nearby city; though he didn't know how big the population was, it seemed like a good place to gather information.
All-in-all, the old man was very helpful. There were, of course, some details he simply could not provide, but that was to be expected of a man who spent his life in the boonies.
Then, soon after Naruto received every last bit of information the old man had to give, someone knocked on the door and informed them that the funeral was ready to begin. Of course, Naruto and Albedo paid their respects, if only to seem polite, but when Naruto spotted Enri leaving, he soon followed her with his "wife" in tow.
Feeling the eyes upon her, Enri turned around just in time to see Lord Kurama loom over her, slamming a hand on the wall behind her. Enri squeaked―her cheeks burning red, though she knew not why.
Albedo, meanwhile, felt like choking a bitch for reasons similarly unknown.
"So," Naruto said charmingly, putting on his best smile, "about that payment~!"
At that, Enri's cheeks felt like they were on fire as her teenage hormones left the poor thing jumping to literally all of the best and worst conclusions she possibly could, with no in-between, at the same time. 'Oh, my gods! Oh, my gods! Oh, my gods! Oh, my gods! Oh, my gods!' (2)
By the time Naruto was done interrogating the poor, flustered Enri, asking around for directions to E-Rantel, and presenting himself as a good Samaritan, he noticed that the sun was already starting to set.
'Holy shit, we've been out here for this long?!' Naruto honestly could not believe it.
But then, just as he was about to take his leave, a terrible commotion rose from the southern reaches of Carne Village.
"Well, shit," Naruto muttered. "Might as well see what's going on, I guess."
Albedo frowned in concern under her helm, but said nothing as she dutifully followed.
It didn't take long for them to approach the village square and when they did, the former addressed a familiar old man. "Something wrong, Chief?"
"Oh, Lord Ainz!" The man looked relieved to see him. "A troop of what looks like mounted soldiers are approaching. They're not uniformly equipped, though..."
"I see," Naruto sighed and looked around. Many of the village folk looked utterly terrified, not that he could blame them. Pushing down and hiding the sadistic glee he felt from their expressions, the disguised kitsune shrugged. "Can't be helped," he said. "Gather everyone on the other side of the village. If they happen to be hostile, then I'll deal with them."
"Are you sure?"
"Don't sweat it, Chief; it'd be a waste to let you all die now after I went through all of that trouble. Consider this a freebie."
The de facto chief didn't know how to feel about that, but nodded and did as he said.
As the villagers ran past him and Albedo, the two of them headed south to meet these men. The succubus trailed behind, ready to defend her love at a moment's notice.
Then, soon enough, the horsemen came into view and Naruto quickly took note that they were indeed outfitted differently from one another. Were they bandits perhaps?
The soldiers from before were all heavily armored, their breastplates bearing the sigil of the Baharuth Empire. These men were all lightly armored at the least, but very few of them were heavily so. And even those who were wearing full plate donned armor of a very different design.
Most, however, wore naught but mail hauberks and helmets, while some sported bits of plate for added protection.
They all halted and their apparent leader dismounted, walking up to meet Naruto.
He was the most striking of the men, with chiseled features and a scar on one cheek. He had short, brown hair and a matching beard, and his steely, coal-colored eyes lingered on Albedo for a moment, seemingly sensing something off about her, before turning to Naruto.
"I am Gazef Stronoff, Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom," he announced. "I have been tasked with exterminating the raiders who've plagued these lands. And you are?"
Naruto could tell he wasn't lying, thanks to an ability known as Sense Motive. It was a passive skill available to Rogues, Bards, and Ninja which allowed him to discern if someone was lying from a glance. Ingame, it was of course completely useless against players, but came in quite handy for certain quests as it allowed him to unlock some secret side quests on occasion when interacting with NPCs. In this new world, however, it appeared to work on everyone.
At the same time, though, Naruto probably didn't need this ability to tell the man was being sincere.
The crests they wore also matched old man's description... and they were definitely geared like warriors of the Re-Estize Kingdom... Naruto smiled. This was a golden opportunity to establish good relations with the kingdom they ended up in!
"The reason this village is still here," Naruto told him. "A foreigner by the name of Ainz Ooal Gown. Feel free to call me Ainz if you'd like, Warrior-Captain."
Gazef frowned at that, unable to believe that this man and his apparent companion would be enough to achieve such a thing alone… but at the same time, he couldn't sense any signs of deceit.
"I can vouch for him," the de facto chief chimed in as he approached. "His wife was terrifyingly powerful; she did most of the work from what I could tell."
Filing that information about the woman away for later, Gazef returned his attention to Naruto and offered him a respectful bow. "Then I thank you for your generosity."
"I did it for a payment, so there's no need to thank me," Naruto told him with a sheepish chuckle.
"So you're an adventurer?"
"Close enough…? I haven't joined any guilds, yet." Naruto was planning on doing so, but the closest one was apparently in E-Rantel.
"They even managed to capture the leader," the elderly man added.
"Really, now?" Gazef looked at Naruto with interest.
The red-haired man shrugged helplessly. "Had a nearby friend question him, but she was too rough," he explained. After the dust had settled, he snuck him away, told Shalltear to open a gate, and chucked him in with the orders to bring that man to Neuronist Painkill.
Unfortunately, said NPC lived up to her name a teensy bit too well and the little bitch died of shock as a result… but not before feeding them some very interesting nuggets of information.
"All she was able to get out of him before he died was that he was not their actual leader and that they were from the Slane Theocracy," Naruto continued. "Apparently, they're trying to start a war between the Kingdom and the Empire."
Or rather, a real one...
"That is troubling…" Gazef muttered.
Unfortunately, their conversation was interrupted by one of Gazef's men.
"W-Warrior Captain," he sputtered, looking winded, "our scouts have spotted a massive force gathering around the village and closing in. They are of the Slane Theocracy!"
"Everyone take heed," a voice spoke softly among the crowd as they took their positions. "The little piggie has been snared!"
The speaker was a man with very plain features, his most outstanding traits were the black sclerae of his cold, blue eyes and a scar across his face. His golden hair was cropped incredibly short and he was garbed in priestly attire. His name was Nigun.
"Offer up your thanks to the gods!"
The group all bowed their heads and uttered silent prayers as per the traditions of their faith. It was required by their religion for them to do so before starting an operation in a foreign land. Once they were done, their commander gave the order to begin and they moved in as one.
These men were a black ops group of the Six Scriptures; though their reputation was spread far and wide, little was actually known about them, mostly because they had a high bar to entry.
To join, one had to be in excellent physical condition with an unshakable faith and the capacity to cast 3rd Tier Divine Magic. In short, this group was the elite among the elite, and they went by the name Sunlight Scripture.
Four times, Gazef Stronoff had evaded them, but now, they had him for sure!
"Next time, I'd like to ask other teams for help and have them do the work," Nigun commented.
"We should," one of his men concurred. "Our specialty is extermination, after all."
"This is a strange mission," another commented. "We usually have backup from the Windflower Scripture for something so important."
"It is strange indeed," Nigun mused aloud. "I don't know why they only deployed us this time around, but it doesn't matter; our mission is to kill Gazef and we will succeed!"
"Oorah!" His men cheered as one.
Yes, they'd get him this time; that bitch with the jet black sword wasn't here to save him; of that, they were certain, and he had nowhere to run!
Gazef peeked out from inside a darkened house on the outskirts of the village, his men and their horses hiding amongst the rubble.
From what they could see three people from in there, all moving in unison, equally far apart from one another. Their robes implied that they were magic casters and the creatures who accompanied them, flying just above their formation, made it their specialty clear.
Angels…
The winged creatures seemed to be made of porcelain and golden light, semi-humanoid in shape, but jagged and monstrous with no visible faces. They were most notably favored by the Slane Theocracy, seen by the denizens thereof as messengers of the gods and practically confirming "Ainz's" claims even before the casters were close enough for the warrior-captain to see their robes. The sigils on them removed all doubt.
"Who are these people and what do they want?" Naruto asked. "There's nothing of value in this village."
"That's where you're wrong," Gazef told him. "They've been after my head for some time now."
"Oh, really?" That was surprising. So this was an assassination… and they had to know he was here. "I'm guessing that raid from earlier was bait for this trap, then."
"So it would seem." Though he didn't show it, Gazef was panicking deep inside. He turned to Naruto. "Ainz… would you allow me to hire you?"
The redhead frowned thoughtfully. "Tell me exactly what I'm up against and I'll consider it; I won't just jump into battle without knowing what I'm dealing with."
"Well… that was informative," Naruto mused aloud as he and Albedo slipped out of the town proper, shadowing Gazef and his forces.
"We're not going to save them, too, are we?" Albedo asked, wondering why her love was acting like this.
Naruto shrugged. "Well, we are being paid," he replied. "Also, it'd be smart in the long run to have allies."
Albedo perked up at his words, stopping dead in her tracks, and Naruto swore he saw a little lightbulb cartoonishly pop up over her head.
"Oh, so that's what you're planning~!"
"...Eh?"
"My deepest apologies, Milord! I have no idea what I was thinking," Albedo lamented, bowing deeply.
"It's fine," Naruto said, giving her a sheepish chuckle. "We all make mistakes." Seriously, though… what in the actual fuck was she on about?! (3)
Unfortunately, before he could ask, his train of thought was interrupted when he noticed a certain elven girl approaching.
"Lord Kurama," Aura whispered. "Shalltear said you needed help?"
"Ah, there you are," Naruto chuckled, ruffling her hair. He'd specifically asked the vampire to send her because she had the highest stealth skill in all of Nazarick, which would help avoid awkward questions. "What's the status report on our forces?"
"Demiurge is now helping Shalltear keep an eye on things," the elf told him. "Cocytus and Mare have yet to see anyone approaching Nazarick and I have those Eight Edge Assassins you wanted. What're your orders, Milord?"
"The leader of those mounted soldiers just commissioned my help in defending this village," he replied. "Our currency is useless here, so I accepted his offer. You're my second pair of eyes. If any of those angels and casters out there slip past his men, take 'em out. Gazef only has fifty men, so his forces are spread too thin to be of much use on their own. You focus on the south while Albedo and I head north."
"Of course, Lord Kurama," Aura told him with a bow.
Naruto gave her a nod and cast Message. "Demiurge," he said. "Let me know where I need to plug any gaps. Also, don't be afraid to lend me and Aura some strategic advice; she's more of a scout than anything, after all, and I can't see everything from down here." (4)
The demonic Floor Guardian responded immediately. "As you wish, Lord Kurama."
Given that Demiurge's bio made him out to be a tactician, it seemed safe to assume that Ulbert's creation would be quite good at the role he was given. As for Cocytus and Mare, they were put in charge of guarding Nazarick's perimeter in his absence.
"Alright," Naruto mused aloud, "Time to get down to business." He turned to Aura. "Get in position, stay out of sight, and be ready to help Gazef's men."
"Yes, Milord!" Aura chirped, giving him a salute, before running off to do precisely that.
Naruto chuckled warmly at her enthusiasm. Then, he beckoned Albedo to follow, "Now, let's catch up with them."
A few minutes later, Naruto chuckled warmly as he followed Gazef, just out of earshot. "Y'know, it was surprisingly hard to be as civil as I was with the humans of this world," he admitted. "But I kinda like that one in particular… he reminds me of Touch Me-senpai."
"Is that why you accepted his request for our services?" Albedo asked.
"Nah…" Naruto shook his head. "I just needed the money, really, and I was gonna defend the village anyways. I've got plans for it, after all… that and getting on his good side might be beneficial."
"Understood, Milord."
Naruto could tell that she felt conflicted. He smiled and rubbed her back. "Well, think of it this way: if we have allies, they can serve as a buffer between us and anyone who wants to do us harm."
Albedo perked up at that and nodded. "Ah, I see what you mean," she said. "He's weak, but more expendable. His rank could also be of use…" She could tell that he was roughly on-par with some of Nazarick's more powerful "pop" monsters, but at the same time the gnat could still use his sphere of influence to make things easier for them in the long run… "As expected of a Supreme One~!" Albedo gushed as she realized just how useful this human could be for lord's ultimate goal. "Please forgive me for questioning you!"
"Uh… it's fine," Naruto told her, looking rather sheepish. "Be prepared to intervene; with them being so badly outnumbered, I'm not at all confident in Gazef's ability to survive for long."
"Of course, Milord~!"
Meanwhile, with Gazef, he could feel his horse's agitation. He frowned.
Even a trained warhorse… no, precisely because she was a warhorse, Beauty knew they were running towards certain death. But, it couldn't be helped.
There were only about twenty actual men surrounding the village, but with the angels, Gazef's forces were outnumbered two to one! Their encirclement was airtight, too; Gazef knew full well that he was riding into a trap and to spring it meant certain death, but there was simply no other choice!
His men stood no chance against these bastards in ranged combat, so they had to close the gap if Gazef and the others were going to do jack shit against them! So, he planned accordingly and split his company into groups of ten, each one tasked with bullrushing one of the commanders surrounding the village. Each charge was led by the heavy cavalry with the light cavalry close behind in hopes that they could finish the charge.
It was an absolute last-resort tactic; many of his men would die in this desperate assault. Still, though; this was their duty and these bastards would only pursue, and continue to burn and pillage while they were at it, if he fled.
"For the Kingdom!" Gazef shouted.
Only the thunder of hooves and battlecries of his men followed as they all spurred their horses and charged.
The angels met them with a charge of their own. Then, one of the mages they were charging at stretched out his hand and cast a spell of some kind.
Gazef's horse neighed and started turning around, completely disobeying him, despite everything he tried. "Damn it!" Gazef cursed, his attempts at turning his steed around to face the enemy being futile. Then, he yelped, feeling something slam into his back. He thought it was the angel's spear at first, but immediately after the impact, he heard a feminine roar and cackle, followed by the distinct sound of someone being cleaved in half.
The strongest warrior of the Re-Estize Kingdom was quite familiar with that noise as he tended to make it on the battlefield. One swing of his sword often did just that. Gazef turned to look and saw the now-bisected angel hitting the ground before seemingly evaporating as Albedo leapt up and lopped the head off of another one.
Then, the mage beyond them fell in a boneless heap, Naruto standing behind him, and Beauty shook her head in confusion at the spell being broken. (5)
Seizing the opportunity, Gazef turned his steed around and ran to aid his right flank upon seeing that they were struggling with their batch of angels.
"Chains of Hell!" Naruto shouted outstretching a hand at one of the angels.
The creature was stopped mid-charge before it could kill one of Gazef's men. Black chains of dark magic ensnared it, pulling the angel to the ground and pinning it down, just in time to be killed by Albedo.
The leader of the Sunlight Scripture, meanwhile, was not at all pleased with what he was seeing.
"Focus your attention on those two," Nigun ordered. "Kill them before they can cause any more trouble!"
No less than two-dozen angels each descended upon Naruto and Albedo, swarming them both with the intent to kill.
"Cloud of Knives!" Naruto shouted as a swirling mass of one-thousand blades materialized around him, slicing his would-be assailants to ribbons.
Meanwhile, the ones attacking Albedo did absolutely nothing to her. Every last one of their attacks hit, but she didn't even flinch as she cut them down in droves with her bardiche.
"The northeastern flank is struggling, Milord," Demiurge told him. "Also, the man leading that group you're fighting appears to be the one in charge of the whole operation."
"Thanks for the heads up," Naruto replied. Then, he turned his attention to the warrior captain. "Gazef! Focus on the northeast! Your men need help there, we'll finish this group off ourselves."
"Got it," Gazef replied and soon after, once the angels in their way were taken care of, he and his men rode off to deal with the problem.
Nodding in approval, the youko then approached the enemy magic casters, stopping dead in his tracks, right before the thrust of a magic spear would have gone through his head and slashing the offending angel in half with his sword. He didn't even look at it while doing that, either, which had a visible effect on several of the men he faced.
Their leader was the exception.
"Have you come to plead for your life?" Nigun asked him smugly, cackling at the redhead before him and his forces.
Stopping and looking over his shoulders where Albedo was murdering everything in sight, Naruto returned his gaze to the commander. "Nope," he deadpanned. Then he gave the men before him an uncaring shrug. "Y'see, I have a budding relationship with those villagers and I don't appreciate your attempt to massacre them a second time after I went outta my way to save them from your comrades."
Nigun looked surprised to hear that. So this guy was able to discern that those men were of the Slane Theocracy, then? Did he manage to capture one and interrogate him? It was the only thing the priest could think of.
"Not sure why you're trying to start a war between the Kingdom and the Empire," Naruto said, "and I frankly don't give a shit. But I'm a busy man and it pisses off that you'd make me work so hard and take so damn much time outta my day to keep them alive long enough to be useful."
"Oh?" Nigun raised an eyebrow. "You're acting pretty brazen for a magic caster. What do you intend to do about it?"
"I 'intend' to slaughter you like the pigs you are," Naruto declared, dropping his transformation and showing his true form. "I will make you pay for every second you kept me tied down in blood."
The sudden change in form and that look in his glowing eyes legitimately startled the forces of the Theocracy. It wasn't of rage, but rather… disapproval, like what one would expect of a father scolding his child. His declaration and transformation did wonders in intimidating the men, as he'd intended, but again, their leader was unaffected—much to his credit, Naruto had to admit.
Nigun clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Kill him!"
The three mages with him started slinging their spells in unison at the apparent demon as the last of their angels, save for one, swooped in for the kill.
"Magic Arrow!"
"Frostbolt!"
"Holy Strike!"
But, try as they might, none of their spells connected and the angels all similarly failed as the slippery son of a bitch danced around them like it was nothing!
Almost none of them could if their lives depended on it; Naruto scoffed in amusement. This build was by far one of his greatest achievements. Despite being a mage/rogue hybrid, Naruto's avatar Kurama was very much a tank of all things―partially because of an ability called Uncanny Dodge, which normally allowed him to add half of his Agility to his Physical Defense. Improved Uncanny Dodge, meanwhile, allowed him to do the same for Magical Defense.
Of course, Naruto was quick to notice that a Kitsune with levels in Arcane Trickster gained access to Unearthly Grace, an ability that allowed him to add all of his Agility to his defenses instead of just half. In summary, because of Wrath of Jigoku and his utterly broken race/class combo, he was free to put very few if any points into these stats and just increase the others as high as he could—quite obviously focusing on Agility.
Adding salt to the wound, Evasion had a chance to make attacks of any kind, even Area of Effect spells, miss outright. Improved Evasion increased this chance even further to a grand total of one-in-four, which stacked with the normal chance that came with having a high Agility stat.
Magic Arrow, because of its effects, was the exception as it always had a 100% chance to hit, but when it did, the spell in question was absorbed by an invisible barrier—that being his Greater Magic Nullification. In short, none of the spells these guys seemed to have had any chance of hurting him.
Naruto chuckled as he inched closer and closer, reminiscing about the creative process of this broken-ass build.
Upon discovering that Wrath of Jigoku was a thing, it went without saying that he immediately proceeded to abuse the absolute fuck out of it in every way he could get away with like the power-gamer he was. Even the racial bonuses he got to Physical Attack were not spared, having been reallocated to his Agility stat, thanks to an ability called Nimble Warrior.
It also helped that he'd learned a lot from examining Bellriver's build before the guy died IRL, may he rest in peace, and improved on it. That's not to say it was easy, but he managed, partially thanks to Peronroncino's input. (6)
Pushing his nostalgia aside, Naruto had to admit that he was very intrigued by these people being able to use spells from Yggdrasil. Upon joining the fray, he also immediately recognized the angels as Archangel Flames, which were also distinctly from the game in question.
He eyeballed the creatures as they tried to swarm him. The beings in question were seemingly made of porcelain, with wings of golden light. Their jagged visages resembled gold and white suits of armor. There was simply no other thing they could possibly be; the appearance was just that perfect of a mach! And the big one, hovering behind the apparent leader of this group, was clearly a Principality of Observation, a favorite summon of the paladin whom he tended to butt heads with, back in Yggdrasil.
It made him wonder if he really was the only player here.
"Cloud of Knives!" Naruto shouted, and just like before, the angels were reduced to a fine paste by the blades that appeared, much to the shock of Nigun and his fellow mages.
"It's a trick!"
"It has to be!"
"Technically, yes," Naruto chucked. "A magic trick… and for my next one, I'm gonna make you disappear~!" As he said that, the youko's grin widened. 'Ah, there they are,' he thought.
Before the fight had started, if one could even call it that, he'd created five copies of himself with Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, one of the perks of his Ninja class. Then, he cast Perfect Unknowable on them, a spell that makes them invisible in addition to nullifying their scent and the sounds they make.
After having one-too-many rogues in Yggdrasil hop on his back and stab him in the ears, Naruto made damn sure that every build he made since, including this one, was very good at stealth detection, so he noticed the clones immediately. (7)
Of course, the mages weren't idle; every last one of them started peppering him with spell after spell once again, trying desperately to kill him, but it was all in vain. Then, Albedo appeared before him in a blur of speed and gave them pause as one of the mages got his head blown off by his own Frostbolt.
"Thanks, Albedo," Naruto said, giving her a welcoming smile. "But you didn't need to do that; those guys couldn't hope to hurt me."
"Forgive me Lord Ainz," she replied, assuming that he wanted to be referred to as such in their presence. "But, if they wish to fight you, they should at least be able to best me; these pathetic creatures are like pebbles fighting a mountain!"
Naruto chuckled warmly, blushing at her words. "I'd die of boredom if I had to wait that long," he told her.
Nigun snarled at that, before turning to the last angel, the strongest one they had. "Principality of Observation! Attack!"
The in question being floated towards Naruto, a massive, flanged mace appearing in its hands as it did with a golden flash; but then, several gashes suddenly opened throughout its body before the angel got anywhere near its target and slowly faded away.
"Wh-what the hell?!" Nigun shouted.
"Wouldn't you like to know~?" Naruto teased. Then, with a nod of his head, the Shadow Clones leapt into action.
The dying screams of Nigun and his men were like music to his ears.
The battle ended soon after. With the assassins' help and Demiurge's input, the remaining attackers didn't stand a chance.
And with all of that said and done, Naruto decided to take his time heading back to the village, his vulpine traits hidden once more.
"Troublesome as that was, I learned a lot about this new world," he commented, eyeballing a crystal he'd extracted from Nigun's corpse. "I guess it was worth it in the end."
It was a sealing crystal that could contain a spell of any level. More specifically, it had a 7th-Tier Summon Monster spell contained within. To think they even had items from Yggdrasil in this world…
"A lotta the answers I got only raised more questions, though," Naruto mused aloud.
"You seem troubled, Milord," Albedo pointed out.
"Just thinking is all," the youko told her. Then, he turned his full attention towards the succubus. "Now that everything's calmed down, though, I have a question. I couldn't help but notice that you reacted oddly to me using the name Ainz Ooal Gown. Does that bother you?"
"N-not at all," she replied, averting her gaze.
"Come on now," Naruto chuckled warmly. "You can be honest with me; I won't be mad at you, I promise."
Albedo sighed, stopping mid-stride and frowning deeply frowning deeply beneath her helm. "If… if I offend you in any way, I'll gladly accept any punishment you see fit," she said hesitantly. "B-but I don't like it one bit; I… feel like those who abandoned us would object to you using that name."
A frown of his own marred Naruto's face as he tucked the crystal away. She was lying; she didn't care what anyone thought, but the way she said the word "abandoned' made her real reason for disliking the name all too clear.
"That's not true at all," he pointed out, making Albedo flinch. "You don't like that name because you resent it for some reason."
He was able to tell because of two passive skills. The first was named Gather Information. Like Sense Motive, it was a low-level, but very useful ability available to ninja, bards, and rogues, which allowed him to read one's body language and speech patterns like a book in order to discern various things about the person, such as how they're feeling, personality traits, and other such things.
Also like Sense Motive, Players were immune to it ingame, but Naruto was of course rather quick to notice that this ability worked on Gazef and the villagers... and now Albedo, which presumably meant that it would also work on the other Nazarick NPCs. He could also tell that it was somehow far more potent than it was ingame, allowing him to discern that she resented the thought of him going by the name Ainz Ooal Gown. That shouldn't have been possible, but it apparently was now.
As for how he instinctively knew that these abilities were what made him so much better at reading people here than he was IR... uh... in the... other real world, Naruto hadn't the foggiest clue, but, somehow, he could just... tell.
"I… I…" Albedo struggled, trying her best to come up with a response upon being found out, but all she could do was sputter helplessly.
"Or rather... you actually resent them for leaving."
The succubus went utterly stiff, all but confirming it. She tried to come up with a response, but failed once more, and then this attempt was cut short when Naruto pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I feel that way too, at times. But they didn't leave because they wanted to; they did it because they had to… even Tabula-san... and Momonga-senpai." (8)
Even with her face completely covered, the succubus visibly taken aback by how wounded her love sounded. Albedo quickly hugged him back, holding the kitsune tight. "I… I am so sorry if I brought back any unpleasant memories," she said. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"Albedo, I'm supposed to be the one comforting you, here," Naruto chuckled warmly, thoroughly amused. "Thank you, though. I appreciate it… and no, you didn't make me uncomfortable at all."
Behind her helmet, the succubus smiled warmly at that and the two of them just stood there for a moment, enjoying each other's embrace.
Eventually, though, they did return, and when the villagers saw them, Naruto and Albedo were lavished with all manner of praise. The latter was more than a little irritated by the sight of half-a-dozen young maidens swooning over her love, but she said nothing and... tried her best to stay composed. Lord Kurama had plans for the village, after all, and she didn't want to get in the way of that by acting out.
Besides, it was to be expected. Anyone would fantasize about being with a Supreme One, after all; that was only natural.
As for Naruto himself, he couldn't help but be humbled by it all. The man behind the fox was not at all used to being treated in such a way. Then, his attention was pulled away from that by Gazef, looking a little banged up but in good health otherwise. Approaching him, Naruto greeted the warrior-captain with a friendly smile. "Glad you made it through the day," he said. "How are you holding up?"
"Well enough," Gazef replied with a tired smile. He lost more than half of his men in that fight, but if it weren't for Ainz and his wife, none of them would be around anymore and this village would no longer be standing! "I have no idea how to repay you for saving my life… and this village… twice, no less! But, feel free to look for me in the Royal Capital if you ever need anything."
"I'll hold you up to that," Naruto chuckled goodnaturedly.
"I have no idea what plans you have," Gazef said. "But would you mind traveling with us back to the Capital? We could use some adventurers of your skill level."
"Unfortunately I'll have to decline for now," Naruto told him. "I have some friends nearby who are probably worried sick about me."
"It's too late to go out right now, though," a familiar, feminine voice told them. Enri approached the trio, eager to thank a certain redhead once again for his help. "The monsters of the Great Forest are far more restless at night." She turned to Naruto and continued, her cheeks starting to burn. 'Y-you and your wife can… uh... stay at my place if you want."
Naruto took a moment to weigh his options. It would raise some awkward questions if he just slunk off into the night… questions he'd rather not deal with the next time he came here. But, at the same time, everyone here appeared to think he was some measure of nobility… that being said, it would also be weird if he didn't play the part.
"It's a kind offer," he said politely, "but I don't want to impose."
"It's fine," she insisted. "After everything you've done for us… for me especially, it's the least I could do."
"Well, if you insist," he replied with a warm chuckle. "Who am I to say no to such a pretty face?"
Enri turned beet red at that, while Albedo was immeasurably grateful that no one could see her face right now.
If looks could kill…
Gazef looked rather amused by the exchange. Apparently, a certain someone was looking to make this girl a concubine... After living with the nobility for so long, though, he wasn't one to judge. While the practice was uncommon in Re-Estize, it wasn't unheard of. (9)
"Again," the warrior-captain said, "feel free to seek me out if ever you're at the Capital."
"Will do," the youko chirped, before turning to his companion. "Let's go, Albedo."
"A-as you wish," the succubus muttered hesitantly; it took every ounce of self-control she had for her not to growl those words.
The next day, however, back in the throne room of Nazarick, Albedo was as happy as a clam; despite her initial feelings about staying the night with that insignificant worm who was clearly trying to seduce her love, there was a spring in the succubus' step after she got to actually sleep with Lord Kurama! Granted, all they did was cuddle, but still! Albedo giggled lewdly, leering at her love and squirming about like a horny schoolgirl.
Naruto couldn't help but blush at that. Truth be told, he came so close to fucking her bowlegged when spending the night at Enri's! And the man behind the fox knew damn well that if he had given into said temptation, two more girls would have been deflowered that night! Taking a deep, calming breath and doing his best to ignore the raging boner, Naruto returned to the book he'd been flipping through.
The ancient, mystical-looking tome in question was the Encyclopedia of Yggdrasil, previously owned by Peronroncino before he and his sister left the game. Given how close he and that unapologetic, self-proclaimed degenerate were, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that Peronroncino had entrusted him with deleting the more… questionable info if Naruto ever quit the game himself. But it did… Naruto was so flattered by how much trust that man had shown.
They really were the best of friends...
Realizing that he'd gotten distracted again, Naruto pushed those thoughts aside for another time and returned his attention to the encyclopedia once more. Continuing to flip through the pages, he came to the Oni section… and it was therein that he found the cause of his irritation.
"Oni: not to be confused with the more specific, ogre-like creatures commonly associated with this term, the word 'oni' in Yggdrasil is in reference to the original, more nebulous meaning―making them the poster child of heteromorphs.
Basically, to be an oni is to be the living antithesis of humanity itself, to be a driven by the desire to rape, pillage, murder, conquer, fuck your mother, and/or consume human flesh (possibly among other things) in no particular order. All things considered, they are one of the most criminally under-used races for ERP―especially because their reservations are on par with what you'd expect from a succubus.
Game-wise, this anti-humanism is why a Karma Rating of -300 or lower is required to take on levels in this Racial Class. It's also why your Karma Rating drops to -500 when gain a level in this class and can never go any higher. The females of this race, known as kijo, tend to be physically weaker, but generally sport a stronger affinity for demonic magic―which is why their level cap in Demonic Sorcerer is 10 instead of 5. (10)
On a side note: the ladies of this race also have some wonderful femdom potential and the horns of their more ogre-like versions tend to make for lovely handlebars."
That whole entry was Peronroncino at his finest… Naruto stopped half way, though, since it only contained more impertinent information from there, such as how to unlock the class, recommended combinations, and which ERP fantasies would be best suited for them.
He couldn't help but smile at the shoutouts in there, though. It probably shouldn't have come as a surprise, given that he was singlehandedly responsible for most of the information in this entry being discovered, but it did... and it was very flattering.
"Explains a lot," Naruto muttered, his smile fading as he mulled over the information. Though his Karma Rating was as low as it could go, he figured that it wasn't the only cause. Being evil, in and of itself, didn't necessarily equal the willingness, let alone the desire, to rape a 10-year-old girl and her wounded sister in the woods, after all.
Then again, his character was literally as evil as could be, so it's entirely possible that his levels in the Oni class only added fuel to the fire. He'd have to check with his "daughters" about that later on. Regardless, it was annoying… (11)
"Milord?" Albedo asked, looking concerned. "You seem displeased. Is something wrong?"
"Just… mildly irritated," Naruto admitted. "The whole time I was in that village, I was fighting the temptation to rape and pillage." He let out a tired sigh. "Needless to say, giving in would've made my goals a lot harder than they needed to be, but it was especially hard to resist having my way with some of those girls."
Just as Albedo was about to say something, Shalltear spoke up, making her presence known while she entered the throne room.
"If it's that much of an issue," the vampire said, "I'd gladly serve as your outlet; I may not look like it, but I'm quite the masochist, so you don't have to worry about being a little rough~!"
Albedo snarled at her, while Naruto gave Shalltear a sheepish chuckle.
"It's… a kind offer," he replied awkwardly. He really meant it, though. "But... well, the people of Nazarick are all precious to me," the youko continued. "Everyone here, yourself included, is the closest thing to a family I have left, so I'd feel really guilty for treating you like that."
Unfortunately, his words only left Shalltear more willing to let him, while Albedo swooned at how pure and sincere he was being.
Naruto cleared his throat, practically reading them both like the book in his lap. "Thanks for the offer, though," he said, focusing on the vampire once more. "That aside, I take it you're here to issue your report?"
"I am," Shalltear replied, giving her lord a curtsy. "In total, we managed to snatch up three survivors, one of whom was of high rank. They are awaiting interrogation in the Frozen Prison."
"Good," Naruto chirped. "In hindsight, I'm a little irritated with myself for killing their leader, since he would've been a valuable target. It's nice that we at least grabbed someone of high rank, though. I trust that Neuronist will be more careful this time?"
"Oh, she most definitely will," Shalltear assured. "She was rather apologetic for overestimating that first one's durability, in fact."
"Good to know," Naruto said with a grin. "I don't mind mistakes too much... as long as you learn from them. Depends on how big they are, of course, but that was a fairly small one on her part."
Both Shalltear and Albedo smiled at that.
"Anything else?" Naruto asked, looking at both women.
"The shadow demons have reported nothing amiss lately," Albedo chimed in.
There was an ogre they dealt with a while back, but that was about it. It didn't seem to be heading for Carne per se, but Lord Kurama had plans for said village, so they didn't take any chances.
"Also," she continued, "that gear those men were wearing had no major enchantments. We've put it all in the low-tier section of Nazarick's treasury until further notice."
"I'll check it out later," Naruto said with a nod of approval. "I wanna learn as much about this world as possible."
"Is there anything we should do about this Gazef and his men?" Shalltear asked, just to be sure.
"Leave them be for now," the youko told her. "We don't want to cause any trouble if we can avoid it. Too risky if we don't know what we're getting into."
"As you wish," both women replied in unison.
"With that outta the way, though," Naruto added, "You two, Mare, and Cocytus, all found yourselves working for much longer than I was intending."
"It's fine, Milord," Shalltear told him with a smile.
"We are all delighted to serve you," Albedo chimed in.
Naruto gave them a warm, but sheepish chuckle at that. "Still, though... I feel the need to reward the four of you for your dedication." Looking down thoughtfully at the book he was holding, he slammed it shut and held it out towards Shalltear. "Might as well start with you," he said. "This was owned by Peronroncino. He made me promise to erase around half of its contents before giving it to someone else, but I'm sure he'd gladly make an exception with you."
The vampire's expression was one of utter shock. That… felt like far too much for what little she did! "I… I…" She struggled to say something, anything, but the poor thing was just so overwhelmed!
"Go on," he said, chuckling warmly. "I insist."
Shalltear gingerly grasped the book; she felt her eyes start to burn, but pushed back the tears. Then, she hugged it close, as if it were her most prized possession.
"Be a dear and fetch Mare and Cocytus while I give Albedo her reward," he said, causing the succubus in question to perk up.
The vampire, meanwhile, nodded, turned on her heel, and ran the hell out of there before she could do something… improper.
"I like seeing girls get all flustered way more than I should," Naruto commented, eliciting a giggle from Albedo. While he couldn't blame his classes in Oni for that trait, the redhead couldn't help but wonder if they enhanced it. (12)
Questions for later...
Clearing his throat, Naruto then turned his attention to Albedo. "Once I'm done here," he said. "I want you to summon the remaining Floor Guardians… minus Gargantua. Let him sleep."
"Of course, Milord," she replied with a bow.
Nodding, he smiled at the succubus. "Now, as for your reward..."
DMS Notes and Trivia
1: In its original context, the word "otaku" is basically Japanese for "fanatic" and has no inherent connection to anime/manga/anything else regularly consumed by the western otaku culture.
That said, I'd imagine Naruto being both: a big fan of anime, manga, games, and such, but also a fanatic of all things ninja.
2: I don't know about y'all, but I find this mental image to be absolutely adorable, lol.
3: Someone's getting the wrong idea… XD
4: Mindset is one big difference between Naruto and Momonga. All of Naruto's paranoia, for example, will be directed elsewhere and that's gonna affect how shit goes down in this story, needless to say, lol. Also, while Naruto's more mature than his canon counterpart and actually has a brain, he's still Naruto, so it's pretty safe to say that he's not as intelligent as the actual MC of Overlord, which would also be a large factor in how things play out. His plans would be simpler, but still effective.
5: Does this horse have a canon name? I don't know; I couldn't find anything... and for some reason, I picture it being a mare named Beauty. O.o Until further notice, I'mma go with that.
6: Finding a way to break the system and do shit he ain't supposed to, like creating a rogue/mage tank build, seems like something would do in my opinion. Unpredictability and all that...
But, yeah, this is why he has a whopping goose egg in his Physical Attack stat. Thanks to Wrath of Jigoku basically making that stat utterly useless for his character, Naruto was quick to offer it up as a sacrificial lamb like the power-gamer he is and focus on the others. Most notably his Agility, since his Uncanny Dodge abilities make it possible to get away with having such low defenses. As such, he only added a little bit Physical Defense and Magical Defense, likely just putting a few leftover points we couldn't place elsewhere into them.
That all said, though, magic/melee builds being seen as a "jack of all trades, master of none" kinda deal in Yggdrasil is... odd to me. It basically spits in the face of many fantasy staple classes from both of Overlord's primary source materials: paladins, D&D clerics and assassins, eldrich knights... hell, if you wanna go all the way and say magic/martial by including archery, then the arcane archer and ranger would also qualify. And those are just the basic ones from D&D alone! I could name a few more obscure ones if you want me to, and MMOs have more in both departments!
Seriously, how are you supposed to play a paladin in that game?! That is one of the most iconic tank classes in general! Ugh... Again, I suppose I'll chalk it up to the game devs not knowing better. Seriously, though, the more I look into it the more Yggdrasil seems to suck as a game. :(
7: I'm sure anyone who did PvP for long enough has their fair share of horror stories, lol. I sure as hell had quite a few nasty encounters of my own involving rogues popping up outta nowhere and oneshotting my mage, campers from hell, nimble-ass melee-types whom I had to chase around for what felt like a damn hour, and the occasional, nasty combination of knockback and cliff. XD
8: Be on the lookout for the little things… They will add up and ripples will be made. =3
9: The practice of having a mistress or concubine in medieval Europe was far from nonexistent or even uncommon among royalty, lol. It does help ensure that one will have an heir who lives long enough to replace Daddy when he dies, after all. Granted, I have no idea if this is a thing in Re-Estize or not, but it is realistic. That said, I'd imagine Gazef having that kinda reaction to Naruto seemingly amassing a harem.
10: Alright, there's a bit to unpack here. Let's start with Oni, shall we?
Though other words like youkai and bakemono eventually came to be favored over most usages of oni, that was a relatively recent thing; the term oni was originally much more nebulous and encompassing. Literally every demon in Inuyasha qualified as oni by this definition for example, and yes, that includes Shippo. That said, the ogre-like monsters you often see being associated with this term are a more modern concept.
Not sure about canon, since I was unable to find an oni class in my research, but in this fanfic, it's basically an evil prestige class, requiring at least one level in one other class and a Karma Rating of -300 or lower... among other things. As for what those other things are, you'll just have to wait and see. =3
That aside, the Demonic Sorcerer is basically a racial class instead of a job class in a similar manner to Skeleton Mage. Basically it's a racial class that sounds like a job class and likely has some job class elements. Its relatively low level cap is basically indicative of its potency.
This is inspired by prestige classes of D&D 3.5e, which have a level cap of 10, usually, and even 5 in rare cases, while more basic classes like sorcerer or fighter have a cap of 20. To acquire a level in a prestige class, one must meet certain requirements. To be an archmage, for example, which has a level cap of 5, one must have the ability to cast 7th level or higher arcane spells, have the Spell Focus feat for two different schools, have the Skill Focus feat for Spellcraft, and finally, have at least 15 Skill Points in Spellcraft and Knowledge Arcana... which would not at all be hard to achieve for a wizard or sorcerer at level 15... huh. Hell, the former can do that easily by level 13 while the latter can do so at 14.
But, I digress. Given that classes are largely left to the imagination in Overlord, I'mma go ahead and unabashedly abuse the fuck outta this ambiguity. That is basically what I'm supposed to do as a fanfic writer, after all, lol.
Oh, there's seven Millenium Items but only six people who actually use them in the show? Guess Naruto's gonna be given the Millenium Scale! Gary got Squirtle and the other two starters were taken offscreen by trainers we never got to meet? Guess I'll give them to Naruto and an OC he boinks. I could go on all day. XD
But yeah, I think I'll end that here, lol. Sorry for the length.
11: Alright, bitches, it's time to strap in for the first full-on, straight up rant of this fic… and for once, I'm not bitching about Naruto's writing, lol.
That said, one thing that drives me absolutely fucking insane in D&D is DMs and players who think that the willingness to perform every evil act known to man is somehow a prerequisite for having an evil alignment.
Yeah, no... making a mustache-twirling, irredeemable amalgamation of all that is sick, wrong, and unholy is not how you write a good villain… most of the time. Force of Nature types are the primary exception, of course, but making them work is tricky precisely because they come off as caricatures more often than not, rather than actual characters. That's not what you want as a DM, a player, or a writer if you ain't making a parody or comic relief character. If you do wanna go that route, though, then hell yeah! Go right on the fuck ahead and share it with me while you're at it! I fucking love dark humor!
In order for a villain to be taken seriously, though, they generally need some semblance of depth… or the illusion thereof at least. A good way to do that is to give them morals—lines that they're not willing to cross for personal reasons. A serial killer who targets rich black people, but hates pedophiles, is still a racist serial killer at the end of the day, for example.
Option B is to make them convincingly think they're the good guy. Adolf Hitler springs to mind; a lotta the shit he did was done because he thought it was the right thing to do. Not saying he was right to think that, of course, but he did.
Finally, another option is to have them do good deeds with a nefarious motivation of some kind. Personally, my favorite example of this option is "how dare you accuse me of murdering that gentleman? I'm clearly not that kind of person; look at this orphanage I built!" Al Capone springs to mind in this case; he did a lotta good shit for his community, partially because he wanted to and more importantly because it helped him get away with the bad shit.
If you're looking to make a good villain, keep those options in mind. Most bad people in real life tend to be examples of all of the above to one extent or another and using that knowledge may help in making your villain more believable... and thus more terrifying.
12: I dunno about y'all, but my headcanon is that this is why he thinks Hinata's cute in the series proper. Might just be projection, admittedly, but I find it easy to picture, lol.
Parting Author's Note: And that's another chapter done!
I hope y'all enjoyed this one. :) Sadly, life and finances are starting to get in the way of my writing, but I will do my damnedest to continue posting on the first and third Friday of every month, meaning The Mirran is scheduled to be updated on the 20th and the next update for this story should be out on the 4th.
That said, however, if a void in my updates does occur, y'all know why. I hope that won't be an issue, but there's your heads up if it becomes one. Regardless, until next time, I hope y'all have a good one! :)