Hi, author here!

Thank you for those who have been following. I've been quite busy with work and this side hobby has been a nice relief for me. This chapter came out a bit longer than usual because of a fight scene which I couldn't just hold off until next chapter.

I sincerely hope my way of writing a battle won't be too hard to follow with my character using non-Overlord spells.

Also, let me know if a single horizontal line is enough to mark a viewpoint switch or not. I have been unsure about that.


Everything was over for the day.

After Ainz returned to Carne Village from his battle against the Sunlight Scripture, he said his farewells to both Gazef and the village chief, and after walking a bit of distance and making sure nobody looked, he used the Gate spell to return to Tomb of Nazarick.

The other end of the Gate spell was the same room he had departed from this morning. Sebas was waiting there on standby.

"Welcome back, Momonga-sama"

Ah yes, I need to address this later.

Ainz planned to gather all the important figures of Nazarick to announce his name change. But first thing first, he directed his gaze on one of the other two figures who had come along with him.

"Ryu-san"

"Yes?"

"Do you have time to talk with me for a bit?"

"Sure"

"Sebas, Albedo, leave the two of us alone for the time being"

"Understood, Momonga-sama"

"As you wish, Ainz-sama"

Sebas showed a bit of confusion after Albedo said that, but the two of them went away from the room without saying a word. The Eight Edge Assassin watching Ryu was still in the room, but since the coming topic would not require secrecy Ainz did not say anything.

"I have a lot of questions to ask you, but do not hesitate to let me know if you feel tired"

"I will manage, so don't worry"

"Why were you in the throne room this morning?"

"I was intending to say thanks for letting me use the arena for my control training"

"Does that mean you have completed it?"

"I can't really say complete, but at least now I can cast my spells in a way that won't make me worry about collateral damage"

"I see. Good for you then"

"So yeah, thank you very much for your patronage"

Ryu bowed deeply as he said that. His gratitude was genuine.

"Putting that aside, what do you say about things that happened today, Ryu-san?"

"Well, I learned a lot about this world. The warrior captain, Gazef, told me a lot of things"

"I actually also learned things from the Village Chief. Let's compare the information we got"

The next hour was spent comparing the information both Ryu and Ainz had learned from the day's events. As he had expected, the additional information from Gazef was quite a valuable addition. Though without a world map visualizing the areas was quite difficult. He had to work from memory of his talk with the village chief.

I should get a world map of this world for myself as soon as possible

"Leaving you in the warehouse seems to be the right decision"

"I admit you're right. I could heal them thanks to your decision"

"Ah yes, speaking of healing..."

Ainz tried feeling his stats. The damage he had taken from the recent battle was minor and was about to fully regenerate, but at this point his HP has not reached 100% yet.

About 97%... 98% maybe?

"Ryu-san, try healing me with that spell you casted"

"Oh, alright"

Ainz saw Ryu drawing his weapon out. This was actually the first time he saw the weapon drawn out. The design of the weapon was quite simple but bizzare for him. It seemed more like something that was made with futuristic technology.

If I had seen this weapon from the beginning, I would have believed him sooner.

Ryu took a second to charge the weapon with energy, and then he casted the healing spell. Both Ainz and Ryu himself were covered in green aura.

I was right.

That was the first thing coming to his mind. His HP has been healed back to full. Ryu's healing spell was indeed special, that it could heal undead as well.

Suddenly, the door of the room opened loudly. Behind it was Albedo, still fully armored and in battle stance.

"You... LOWLIFE SCUM! HOW DARE YOU PUT MY BELOVED AINZ-SAMA IN HARM'S WAY! A MILLION DEATHS WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH!"

Oh crap, I forgot to tell her.

"Albedo, I believe I have told you to leave the two of us alone"

"B-but Ainz-sama. The healing spell-"

"I asked him to cast it for an experiment"

There was a silence for a few seconds. Albedo then bowed in a haste.

"I... I have made a huge mistake calling Ainz-sama's honored guest a lowlife scum! I shall apologize with my life if Ainz-sama wish it!"

Albedo was ready to behead herself with her weapon if Ainz ordered her to do so, but Ainz shouted.

"Stop right there!"

There was another silence for a few seconds.

"You have made a mistake. That one is certain. But now I believe that you have learned not to jump into conclusion. Your mistake is forgiven this one time. Now, do not speak any further, and wait outside like what I asked you to"

Without saying a word, Albedo turned around and went outside the room. Ainz let out a sigh after the door closed.

"I'm sorry that you had to see such thing, Ryu-san"

"That... was scary. What actually happened?"

"In the law of magic working here, healing spells run with positive energy. Positive energy damages undead, and as you can see I am an undead"

"Oh, I see. She was genuinely concerned about you, Ainz-dono"

"Yes. Too concerned in fact. Anyway, your magic seems to follow a different law. Your healing spell healed me, and that is very interesting. Can you tell me about it?"

"To be honest, my spells are not actually magic"

"What?"

Ryu then gave Ainz a brief explanation on how his spells were actually photon energy manipulated and channeled with technology to give desired effect.

"Interesting. I wonder if I can do that too"

"It depends on your body aptitude to photons and its alignment. Unfortunately I am unable to measure it. I can't adjust your alignment either"

"Ah, pity"

"Anything else you would like to ask, Ainz-dono?"

"Ah, yes. Now that you no longer need to train, what are you going to do next?"

"About that, I was just about to ask your permission"

"What permission?"

"I would like to leave and go on my own. I want to see what this world has to offer, and maybe I will find out a way to return to my place"

I wonder if this is a bad thing or a good thing.

Ainz tried to measure the pros and cons of Ryu's decision to leave. One of the worst thing that could happen was if he leaked sensitive information about Nazarick and Ainz himself. Another possible bad scenario was that if he got killed and the space army found out about it. While the chance of them becoming universally hostile is slim, their involvement might complicate things in the long way. Yet another possible scenario was if someday they crossed path again as enemies...

My head is a mess thinking about all worst possible outcome

On the other hand, while not absolute, keeping a human in Nazarick has been against the policy of the guild. The NPCs probably share that sentiment and keeping Ryu around would make Ainz worse in their eyes. Letting him go would avert that.

Is that it...?

At the moment, Ainz could not think of any other pros. The cons greatly outweight the pros. But what could be a good reason to convince him to stay here inside the tomb?

Maybe I should just alter his memories? I have no idea how much MP that will cost me, though.

"Well, you are my guest since the beginning. I have no right to forcefully keep you here"

"Well, I thought that since I know some sensitive information about you, you would not let me go so easily"

"Oh, yes. About that"

"I won't mind if you want to erase my memories like you did to the two girls"

"Oh, so you know"

"I just happened to notice that they never said anything about you being an undead"

"Alright, let me try a shot with the remaining mana I have left"

Ainz used the same spell he had used to alter the two girls' memories on Ryu. He tried probing into the moment he had told Ryu his human origin.

Alright, I'm gonna erase this part... Ugh, that costed a lot.

Ainz had managed to erase the part where he had told Ryu about his human name and origin. At this point, his remaining mana was no longer enough to make any alterations, but still sufficient to simply look.

I'll try looking further back... What?! What is this?

The thing Ainz saw was a huge creature of unfathomable size floating in space. It was practically impossible to describe its appearance. An eldritch abomination with five pairs of arms punching spaceships to destruction. The vision ended right after the creature launched a punch right at Ainz's face.

Ainz was panting heavily, even though as an undead he had no need to breathe. Thankfully, his emotion override kicked in, returning him into his calm and composed self.

"Is there something wrong, Ainz-dono"

"I took a look further into your memories, and I saw a huge creature with five pairs of arms. What was that?"

"Oh, that would be a Dark Falz"

"Is that among the creatures you regularly fight?"

"Yes, that is our duty"

"I remember you telling me once that I was stronger. I see no way that it could be true"

"Ah, forgive me about that. We usually weaken them first somehow before fighting them directly. I mistakenly compared you to their weakened form"

"I see. Well, I unfortunately ran out of mana now, so I'm going to call it a day. Meet me again tomorrow morning here"

"Alright, Ainz-dono. Good night"

After Ryu left the room, Ainz casted a spell with his leftover mana.

[Message]

Albedo, send announcement for all floor guardians and their vassals to gather at the throne room immediately. In the meantime it takes for them to arrive, come into my room to deliver your report about our exploits today.


Ryu arrived at his bedroom a little exhausted. Not physically, but mentally. All things he had experienced at the village, the long conversation with Ainz afterwards, and also the memory-altering magic he had voluntarily received.

Before falling to bed, Ryu sat down on the bed and tried recalling the moment he had met Ainz for the first time.

Let's see, he told Sebas to leave me and him alone and after that... I don't remember anything. So that's the part he has erased.

Ryu still remembered Ainz's previous name, Momonga, and the reason he had changed it. He had no idea if Ainz would erase that as well tomorrow. Probably yes, though since the old name had been mentioned often throughout his memory, erasing them all would be a huge bother for Ainz.

Well, I'll just see what happens tomorrow.

With that in mind, he went to sleep.

And thus came the next day.

After having his breakfast, Ryu went to the throne room as he had promised. Ainz was sitting there, seeming to expect his arrival. Standing by next to him were not only Albedo, but also all other humanoid creatures he had seen on the first day.

"Good morning, Ryu-san. Did you sleep well?"

Ryu bowed and kneeled with one knee to show respect.

"Good morning, Ainz-dono. Yes, I did. You have my deepest gratitude"

Ainz laughed a little.

"I remember telling you that you don't need to kneel like that since you are my honored guest"

"I just can't help it. You have done so much for me"

Ryu slowly stood up after saying it.

"Putting that aside, I have a proposal for you before you leave"

"What proposal?"

"This is actually a challenge. I challenge you to fight one of my summoned monsters"

There was a silence for a few seconds. Ryu was a bit surprised because it felt like the challenge just came out of nowhere.

"If I may inquire, what is the reason of this challenge?"

"Yesterday I let Gazef and his men fight the Slaine Theocracy men to gauge the battle strength of this world's combatants. Today I would like to gauge your battle strength"

"I see"

Ryu thought about it for a moment. While he didn't really mind, at this moment there would be nothing for him to gain. He would only give information to Ainz about how he would fare against this world's dangers.

"If you accept the challenge and win, you will be rewarded"

"And if I don't..."

"Nothing will happen if you refuse this challenge. We will see you leave in good faith still"

"What will be the reward?"

"A companion sworn to be loyal to you"

Do I need it?

Ryu fell into a deep thought. While having a companion would be handy, there were times when he would rather be alone, such as when he needed to sneak around. On that regard, what kind of creature would it be? So far Ryu has not seen any other human in the tomb other than Sebas and some of the maids, and even then there was no telling if they were human or merely shaped like human.

"Think about it, Ryu-san. Being alone in an unknown world is more difficult than it might seem"

Ainz stood up from his throne and walked towards Ryu. The other creatures near him stood still, just watching.

"You might have been taking it for granted, but once you leave the Tomb of Nazarick all those facilities I have been giving you permission to use will no longer be within your reach"

Ainz came closer, and now he was face to face with Ryu. Their height difference were clear, though. Ryu had to look up and Ainz had to look down to make their eyes meet.

"With a companion, someone will watch your back when you are vulnerable. Even in the case this world's society hates you, he will remain at your side"

There was a silence.

"This is your chance. My offer is only effective this once. What will you do?"

"Ainz-dono. One last question. What if I accept the challenge and lose?"

"Do you seriously think you will lose?"

"No, but I just-"

"If you are going to accept my challenge, accept it with determination to win. If you persist to ask that question again, I will take that as a refusal to the challenge"

There were another few seconds of silence. Ryu was still unsure whether accepting the challenge would be of any benefit compared to refusing. Moreover, Ainz's refusal to answer the last question was suspicious. Could it be that Ainz secretly hoped for Ryu to get killed by this monster, so sensitive information would just remain with him into the grave? But why bother spending mana to erase the memories yesterday then? Ryu had no idea whether he should trust Ainz in this matter.

He has a point, though. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Very well, Ainz-dono. I accept the challenge"

Ainz seemed to be smiling, hearing the answer.

"A wise answer. Do you need time to prepare?"

"No. I am ready to fight"

[Gate]

The same portal Ryu had seen the day before appeared in front of his eyes.

"This will lead to the same place you have been using to train. Enter it once you are fully determined that you are ready"

Without saying anything, Ryu walked through the dark portal. The scenery in front of his eyes changed, and he recognized it as the middle of the arena he had been borrowing to train his control over his photon techs, just like Ainz had said. Soon, Ainz and the bunch of creatures in his company appeared on what seemed to be the VIP seat.

"Welcome back to the Amphitheater, Ryu-san!"

Despite the distance, Ryu could hear Ainz's voice loud and clear.

"I will ask this once more. Are you ready?!"

Ryu gave a thumb up to signal that he was ready. Seeing the signal, Ainz raised his grand staff and pointed it at the ground of the arena.

[Summon Primal Fire Elemental]

A miniature tornado of fire appeared at a distance in front of Ryu, about twenty meters. The fire grew larger and larger, the spinning also grew faster, until finally it threw a hot gust of scorching air.

A normal human would suffer from a lot burn damage, but while Ryu was more or less a normal human, he was equipped with photon armor units. They were invisible and they provide protection by covering him in energy layer invisible to naked eye.

Still, their protection was not absolute.

Ryu took some minor damage from the scorching gust. He quickly casted Resta to heal the damage. Soon after, he saw the monster he was about to fight. It was a legless, floating humanoid creature made of fire. It had the face of a bull with four horns and large arms with sharp claws. Its back and the ground beneath it emit more fire of slightly different color.

"Ryu-san! This is a Primal Fire Elemental! Your challenge is to fight it until it dies! The battle begins once you attack it! Now show me what you can do!"

Then I guess it will have to wait a bit before I engage

Shifta!

Deband!

Shifta!

Deband!

Shifta!

Deband!

Shifta and Deband were spells to temporarily increase attack and defense power, respectively. Their effects don't stack with multiple castings, but their duration do. Normally, their duration could be stacked up to three minutes, achieved with three castings. However, in this world the amplification made the duration stackable up to 15 minutes, also achieved with three castings. So for a total of six castings Ryu was ready for battle.


"Is this his doing, Ainz-sama?"

"I. Feel. Empowered."

"We all do, Cocytus"

The buffing spells Ryu casted reached the VIP seats where Ainz and his floor guardians were seated. Shalltear, Cocytus, and Demiurge were the first ones to speak up about it. Ainz just observed calmly.

"Buffing before a fight. Heh, he really used the first strike advantage wisely. I would do the same if I were to fight a powerful enemy and I know I have such advantage"

"But if his spells reach us here, that means it reaches the Primal Fire Elemental as well, right?"

"No, Aura. My mental connection to the Primal Fire Elemental doesn't show any kind of empowerment"

"D-doesn't that mean..."

"It seems so, Mare. His buffing spells are convenient that they don't affect anyone he recognizes as enemies"

"Ainz-sama, it seems he is done buffing now"

"Now, if I were him, I would open the fight with a spell that is powerful, yet takes a lot of time to charge. There's no better chance than this to use such spell. Let's see what he's gonna do"


Right, now which tech to open the fight...?

Since the enemy was obviously of fire element, ice techs would be the most logical. However, Ryu's specialization was not ice, and none of his ice techs were suitable for opening a fight where he had the first strike advantage.

I'll use that one instead.

Ryu aimed at the Primal Fire Elemental's right arm and began charging photon energy. A purple magic circle appeared at its right shoulder, but nothing else happened yet. Over the next ten seconds, the magic circle grew larger and more circles were added. All of them also glowed brighter over time until they blew up, making a small yet concentrated explosion.

Namegid

That was the name of the dark element tech that could deal massive damage to a single target, yet took a long time to charge before it could deal its full potential damage.

Ryu had aimed at the right arm, assuming that Namegid would not kill the Primal Fire Elemental outright. He had hoped to disable one arm to give him an advantage in the imminent combat.

The single attack, having been amplified by Ryu's specialization in dark element and also his weapon's passive ability to amplify dark element, was strong enough to cut off the Primal Fire Elemental's right arm. The cut off arm fell down to the ground and laid there motionless and extinguished. The creature itself roared, either in pain or in a rage, or both, Ryu had no idea. All he knew was that he had to be careful from then on.

The Primal Fire Elemental generated a fireball with its remaining left arm and threw it towards Ryu. The speed of the fireball was fast enough that no normal human could possibly evade. It hit the ground where Ryu stood, creating an explosion.

When the dust cleared, Ryu was nowhere in sight. Not even a charred remains could be seen. But before anyone could think about it, he appeared out from thin air as if he had been invisible.

That was Mirage Escape, an evasion move exclusive to Force and Techer class. When activated, it gives the user a few seconds of invisibility and immateriality. Being immaterial means nothing can touch him. However, that also includes the ground. He had to jump before activating it or else he would reappear buried underground.

"That was a close one"

Without delay, the Primal Fire Elemental charged at Ryu and used its left hand to swipe him with its claws. Like before, he evaded with Mirage Escape and appeared right behind it.

The Primal Fire Elemental immediately followed up with a radial fire blast. This time, Ryu could not evade. He took the blast head on and got thrown away. He took major damage from that. Thankfully, the Primal Fire Elemental seemed to be recharging so there was time for him to heal up.

Resta!

A single cast and Ryu was back to his prime. Still, while Resta heals injuries, it does not restore stamina. He had to end the fight as quickly as he could.

I need to make an opening... Let's see if this can distract it long enough.

The Primal Fire Elemental was about to throw another fireball at Ryu, but it was interrupted by what Ryu had just casted.

Ilmegid

Ilmegid is a spell that creates a floating semi-sentient claw of dark energy. The claw would normally home in on an enemy and strike it once, then move away to a different enemy and strike it or turn back and repeat the strike to the same enemy if there were no other enemies up to five strikes, or three in the latter case, before it disappears. But in this world, a single spell would produce five claws at once and they all would strike up to eight times no matter the case.

The Primal Fire Elemental was distracted by the five claws surrounding it. Their strikes were individually weak for the Primal Fire Elemental, but they were a major annoyance. It tried driving them off, but they were persistent on striking it.

The Primal Fire Elemental was a bit late to notice that a purple magic circle appeared on its left shoulder. Ryu was charging another Namegid. It charged at Ryu after realizing it and swiped with its left claws.

And it succeeded.

Ryu evaded the claw swipe, but the evasion forced him to cancel Namegid.

Tch, just a little bit more..

The Ilmegid claws had expired. He could cast it again, but the Primal Fire Elemental probably would not be as distracted as before.

Alright, I'll try this.

Ryu charged his weapon, preparing a spell. But he did not cast it. He just waited. Meanwhile, the Primal Fire Elemental was a bit cautious, but not for long. It charged at Ryu again, trying to swipe him with its claws.

Ragrants!

A beam of light came out from Ryu's weapon, right to the Primal Fire Elemental's face. The light elemental spell had stunned and blinded it. Ryu immediately turned around and casted another spell.

Ilzonde!

The spell propelled Ryu away from the Primal Fire Elemental. He stopped near the wall of the arena, then he aimed once again at its left arm.

Ilbarta!

A small ice explosion occured at the Primal Fire Elemental's left shoulder. It felt some damage and cold sensation, but it was still blinded so it could not see where it had come from. A blue magic circle appeared on the spot it got hit, but it did not notice anything.

Ilbarta!

Another small ice explosion.

Ilbarta!

And another. The blue magic circle seemed to grow larger at this point.

Ilbarta!

This time the ice explosion was larger. The Primal Fire Elemental felt a major damage but it still has not recovered from the blindness. It flailed around and hit nothing but thin air.

Ilbarta!

Another ice explosion. The Primal Fire Elemental roared in rage.

Ilbarta!

And another. The blue magic circle grew even larger and this time it was flashing. The Primal Fire Elemental finally recovered, and it knew that something bad was going to happen.

But it was too late.

Ilbarta!

A concentrated explosion of ice happened at the Primal Fire Elemental's left shoulder. Its left arm got cut off just like its right arm. It roared in pain, but that was all it could do.

The last ice explosion also created a huge ice block, encasing the Primal Fire Elemental from the neck below.

The ice block was melting slowly, but too slow. This time, the purple magic circle it knew all along appeared on its face. The magic circle grew larger and there was nothing it could do.

Namegid

The dark explosion blew the Primal Fire Elemental's head off from its body. The body twitched for a while, but then it became motionless and the fire extinguished.

It was over. Ryu has won.


"That. Was. Exciting. If. You. Ask. Me"

"It surely was! All those spells he used, I really had no idea!"

"Y-yeah. Me too, Sis"

"He is definitely weaker than us all, but I have to admit that he has provided us quite a spectacle. Magnificent"

Demiurge did a little laugh after saying that.

"Let's all go to him and congratulate him for winning the challenge"

Everybody on the VIP seat went down into the arena and approached Ryu, who was still trying to catch his breath.

"Congratulations, Ryu-san. You have won the challenge"

Everybody else near Ainz applauded, signaling their approval of what Ryu had just achieved.

"As promised, I will assign a companion for you. But first..."

[Gate]

"This will lead you to the same bedroom you have been using. Go rest there for a bit and meet me at the throne room after you have recuperated"

"Thank you, Ainz-dono"

After saying that, Ryu went into the portal. Ainz then undid the spell to make the portal disappear.

"Alright then, we will proceed as planned. You understood everything, right?"

A spider-like figure appeared. It was the Eight Edge Assassin who had been assigned to keep watch on Ryu.

"Yes, I do, Ainz-sama"

"Repeat it for me, so I can be sure that you really understand the plan"

"I am to be his loyal companion while keeping watch on him, reporting anything suspicious or significant to Ainz-sama or any Floor Guardians. If he happens to become hostile to Ainz-sama, I will assassinate him when I get the chance"

"You got the last part wrong. In that case you should incapacitate him and bring him to Nazarick as prisoner, but only if you report to me and only me first, and also if I approve you to do that action. If I happen to be unreachable, use your own judgement to take what you think will be the best action"

"Forgive me, Ainz-sama. I shall commit the correction into my memory"

"As expected of Ainz-sama. Even for the unlikely event, a plan has been prepared"

"It is common sense, Demiurge"

I have to compensate him later somehow.

In truth, the Eight Edge Assassin was not wrong. It was Ainz himself who revised the last part. Nobody else other than the two of them had known about this part of the plan, and Ainz did not want to look like someone who had to revise a plan because he had mistakenly made a bad one.

Him winning the challenge was really unexpected.

The main plan was to get Ryu killed by the Primal Fire Elemental, and then Ainz would use the dead body to experiment with the Wand of Ressurection. If the ressurection succeeded, Ryu would feel indebted to him, securing his loyalty and their alliance. If it fails, then all sensitive information would just disappear with him into the grave. That was the reason why Ainz tried his best to convince Ryu to accept the challenge.

The plan was not without flaws. Ryu might still refuse the challenge. The space army might find out and get themselves involved. However, there were cases where a flawless plan was just impossible to think of, so risks must be taken to go forward.

And yet, Ryu accepted the challenge and won.

The last part had to be revised because there was a chance that Ryu might manage to escape from the assassination attempt, and it will be the last nail in the coffin of their alliance with no chance to salvage.

"Nevertheless, let's prepare a little farewell party for him while he rests"

"As you wish, Ainz-sama"