Hello.
Here is a short intermission chapter before proceeding to the next arc. Also, I have updated my gallery a bit. The links are still on my profile if you'd like to check it out.
See you again in the afterword.
[X][X][X]
"Alright... Here goes!"
[Lightning]
FLASH! CRACK!
"Heh... Still no good..."
Despite the loud sound, the lightning coming out from Viviana's hand was still nowhere close to the one she had seen cast by Nabe back then. In fact, it dispersed too quickly to damage anything outside point blank range.
Viviana, formerly known as Ninya, sighed and lied down on the grassy open field, intending to rest her body a bit. She had been training Lightning spell as instructed by Ainz Ooal Gown, the one who had given her the tome for that spell, for three weeks. This grassy field at a corner within the walls of Carne Village was very suitable for her to practice the spell without risking damage to the environment, and lying down on the ground like this under the sunshine and light breeze felt very comfortable..
"Hey, Vivi. How did you do today?"
Suddenly, a question came from a familiar voice nearby. Viviana didn't need to look to identify, so she just kept lying down looking straight up.
"Still no good, Peter"
Peter sat down on the ground right next to Viviana. He let out a relaxed sigh, enjoying the smell of green grass carried by the cool breeze.
"Take it easy. I'm no magic caster, but I know that a third tier spell normally takes years to learn. Yet you've already gone this far in mere three weeks"
"Yeah, but I just don't want to fail him"
"I don't think he expects you to learn it so quickly. I remember that all he asked is for you to report your progress regularly"
"I know, but if I report that I made no progress, I will be shaming myself in front of his benevolence"
"You should take it easy for a bit. Look at Lukrut"
"Heh..."
Viviana chuckled a bit hearing Lukrut's name. That guy was still as lively and carefree as ever, but recently he somehow got close with a local girl. A former Iron Rank adventurer named Brita. Viviana had seen the two of them training together since it just so happened that their skills matched, so they could teach each other a thing or two.
"He finally scored a girl after failing too many times to count"
Peter let out a small laugh saying that, and Viviana followed suit. She still remembered Lukrut's streak of failures, and seeing him making a real result for once was quite an astonishment.
"Yosh!"
Viviana stood up. Her face was filled with determination. She believed that with persistence she would bring results like Lukrut.
"Still going to try?"
"Yeah, Peter. Thanks for the company"
"Lunch time is near. Don't push yourself"
"Right"
Peter stood up and left Viviana alone in her practice. The sun was bright and Carne Village was still as peaceful as ever.
[X][X][X]
Somewhere in the wilderness, a man stood straight in triumph, atop a pile of corpses. Those bodies were the remains of enemies he had killed in a recent battle. They were humanoid in physical features but not human at all. Their facial shape were more like goats, with horns and all.
This man was none other than Elder. His escape from his defeat in the battle against the dark warrior had led him to this place in the middle of nowhere, and it had not taken long before he encountered these hostiles, which he had easily obliterated.
"Heh, weaklings. Whatever"
Elder absorbed the energy of the defeated enemies. The amount of energy he could get from these weak creatures wouldn't be of any help in making him stronger, but it would at least help him recover his wounds and allow him to summon Darker minions again.
"This area is teeming with weaklings. Hmm..."
Elder tried summoning a few Darkers with his newly gained energy. All he managed to summon were merely a few Dagans, but he ordered them to run wild anyway since he there would be no loss even if they were defeated later.
Elder walked away from the pile of corpses. While he would gain no strength in defeating weaklings, he could always use the energy to summon more Darkers, which would then kill more creatures and gain more energy for him. Once fully recovered, he would resume his quest for power and finally challenge that supreme energy he had once sensed alongside that ARKS guy.
Crack!
"Huh?"
Elder looked back after hearing a strange sound behind him. It sounded like a glass cracking, which was strange since there was nothing made of glass around. He looked around in a fully alert state, but nothing happened after a full minute of silence.
"Guess I was mistaken"
Elder turned again and resumed his walk. He would need quite a while to recover, so he believed that he better get started immediately.
Little did he know, that one of the Dagans he had summoned disappeared without a trace.
[X][X][X]
Re-Lobell was a city within the Re-Estize Kingdom, located at its western edge. Since the city bordered the coast, it was natural for it to have become a port city. Various kinds of ships go from and to the port for different reasons such as trade with Holy Kingdom or fishing operations. There were also military ships standing by in case of emergency such as hostile military aggression or rampaging sea monsters. Neither of the two had ever happened for a long time, so the men pretty much had nothing to do other than regular training.
"IT'S THE SEA!"
Right on one beach in the vicinity of the city, Lily shouted very excitedly. Her excitement drew some confused look from nearby pedestrians.
"LOOK, RYU-SAN! ALICE-SAN! THE SEA IS SO BIG!"
Ryu and Alice, who were some distance behind Lily thanks to her running ahead in her excitement, couldn't help hiding their faces a little in embarrassment. Ryu had no idea why, ever since she had gotten her 'lair-bellup' back then, Lily behaved in more unrestrained manner. On one hand, Ryu felt glad that she seemed to have more free will than before, but on the other hand her behavior was like a child, which felt unfit with her strength and rank as an adventurer.
"Lily, I know you're excited but remember that we're here not for sightseeing"
"Eheheh, sorry..!"
"But we still have nothing to do for the moment, so feel free to enjoy yourself for now I guess"
"Thank you, Ryu-san!"
Indeed, Ryu's group was there not for sightseeing, but for another Adamantite Rank job just three weeks after closing the previous Adamantite Rank job at the Empire. There were news of the guardian of the sea, known as the Sea Dragon, showing strange activities. Normally, the Sea Dragon was a benevolent being which would protect ships from harm as long as it was properly respected. However, lately it started to randomly bump passing ships, causing damage to the goods stored inside and also injuries to the crews. So far there had been no major accidents, but the frequency of this happening gradually increased, and the officials worried that it would be just a matter of time until it did something more drastic like sinking the ships outright. Therefore an Adamantite Rank job was posted to investigate the cause, and subjugate the Sea Dragon itself if all else failed.
"I sure hope this was not caused by Darker infection"
Ryu spoke his concern. The distance from E-Rantel to Re-Lobell was longer than the distance from E-Rantel to Re-Estize Capital. Even with the team's access to flight, it had taken them a good amount of hours to arrive there. If Darkers really had emerged here, he would have no other choice other than asking for Ainz's assistance, which he preferred not to despite Ainz's willingness to help. The fact that no Darkers had ever appeared over nearly a month after the encounter with Elder back then raised a concern that Elder might indeed had spread Darkers somewhere else far away.
"Yeah, we will be spread too thin if those Darkers really have reached this far"
Alice agreed with Ryu's concern.
"Anyway, so we now just wait?"
"I suppose so"
Since the matter concerned a great being like the Sea Dragon, the guild decided to assemble a large party of adventurers instead of just depending on a single Adamantite Rank team. It would take some time until the teams were gathered, so Ryu's team was pretty much free until then.
"Then..."
Ryu looked at Lily, who still was running around in her excitement at the sea.
"I guess we can go sightseeing for a bit anyway"
[X][X][X]
In the conference room within Tomb of Nazarick, most of the important figures were sitting around the large table in the room. As Ainz had instructed before, the meeting was put on hold for a one-hour break, and now that one hour had almost passed, so everyone had readied themselves to resume the meeting.
As expected, both Ainz and Albedo entered the conference room right on time to resume the meeting. All the floor guardians there stood up to give their respect as the two figures took their seats. In the middle of this happening, everyone couldn't help noticing that Albedo seemed to be somewhat happier than before. Nobody wanted to inquire, though, since there was no reason other than curiosity at this point. They would only inquire if it would affect the important matters at hand.
"Alright, we're all here. We will now resume the meeting. So..."
Ainz took a deep breath, despite having no need to do so.
"It comes to my concern that there is a matter which might be more pressing than our quest for world domination, and that is the appearance of Darkers and Dark Falz"
Ainz stopped briefly to clear his nonexistent throat.
"As you have seen, the Darkers are creatures of indiscriminate destruction, and according to the encounter we had, the Dark Falz named Elder is a thrill seeker who simply just wants to fight. It would be just a matter of time until Elder dares to challenge Nazarick, and we can't ever underestimate our enemies no matter how weak they seem to be"
Demiurge then responded to Ainz's words.
"Certainly, Ainz-sama. I fully understand your concern. There is no use in world conquest if we are unable to repel such a simple threat"
"Correct. Before we begin expanding our territory, we need to make sure we can defend ourselves first. I would like Nazarick to experience real intruders, no matter how weak, to test if our defenses are still working as they should after we got transported into this world"
"In that case, Ainz-sama. The first part of the plan I have for world conquest can be used for that purpose"
"Hmm, let us all hear it"
"Certainly, Ainz-sama"
Demiurge then began explaining his plan in detail. In short, some kind of bait information would be placed in the Empire to incite the Emperor into sending expendable persons into Nazarick's location. Ainz actually didn't really like the plan since it would involve him revealing his identity and the location of Nazarick to yet another person, but he couldn't come up with any better plan himself.
"Hmm, alright. We will go with that plan, and follow up with it depending on the outcome"
"Your approval is a great honor, Ainz-sama"
"Let's move to the next topic. Pandora's Actor"
"Yes, Ainz-sama!"
"Do you have anything to report regarding that Elder Pain sword and the photon armor?"
Indeed Ainz had tasked Pandora's Actor and the Chief Blacksmith to do a research on the sword left behind by Elder and also the photon armor Ryu had given him and Narberal back then. Ainz wanted to know the strength of that sword and see if the facilities of Nazarick could mass produce the armor.
"As for the sword, so far me and the Chief Blacksmith have appraised that the sword is about on par with a Legacy Class item in raw strength, but it has a strange property"
"What strange property?"
"It seems the sword has a dormant potential within, but how to awaken the potential is still a mystery. Though we still managed to see that the dormant potential is the same as Shalltear-dono's Spuit Lance. Es ist interessant, isn't it?"
"Interesting indeed"
Ainz leaned forward and nodded his head, a sign that he was genuinely interested. Lifesteal effect was very useful in many kinds of situations, as it would allow one to fight more aggressively without stopping to heal much of sustained damage. Therefore, it was a given that obtaining that effect was very difficult. Having a new weapon with that effect would be a fine addition to his collection of weapons.
"So, what about the photon armor?"
"Es ist bedauerlich. We still haven't found any interesting properties on those. In fact, the protection from the energy shield coming from the device is only as strong as a High Class item"
Despite the tier name, High Class item was the third from bottom out of eight total in the tier list of items, so for Ainz and anyone in Nazarick, a High Class item was pretty much trash. Ainz could assume that Ryu had given him and Narberal only the spare device he had, while Ryu himself was equipped with a much better photon armor device.
"Ryu claimed that the armor protects against Darker infection, which we know is very dangerous. Demiurge has learned it the hard way. We need to be able to mass produce such effect so we can prevent any repeat incidents regarding this"
"Leider, we can't know for sure until we get an infection source to test with"
"Umu, that's true. Obtaining one can be dangerous, though. Anyway, continue the research for now and report to me if you find something"
"Freilich, Ainz-sama"
"Now, does anybody have anything else to discuss?"
Nobody responded to Ainz's question, therefore Ainz assumed that there were no more things to discuss in the meeting.
"Then let us close this meeting and proceed with the course of action we have agreed upon"
"As you command, Ainz-sama"
All the others in the room voiced their agreement. Ainz could only hope that everything would go smoothly, which most of the time would never be the case.
[X][X][X]
Afterword:
Before starting the next arc, I'd like to ask a question. Would you prefer updates of short chapters every week, or regular-sized chapters every two weeks? I have been doing the latter, but I might reconsider depending on the responses.
In any case, see you again later.
Updated Character Sheets
Name: Ryu Seika
Height: 173 cm
Appearance: See cover image or gallery
Class: Force level 70
Sub Class: Techer level 70
Skill Build: Thunder Element and Dark Element focused
Main Weapons: Weddle Park Rod, Gal Wind Talis
Reserve Weapons: Rod of Caduceus, Wand of Elysion, Dahgash Talis, Metal Ignis Talis, Heretic Saw Talis, Motav Prophecy Talis, Seimei Kikami Talis
Special Perks:
*. Photon Inventory. Works the same way as Ainz's inventory system.
*. Photon Armor. A defensive invisible energy shield, giving protection to the whole body.
*. Photon Clothing. Enables instant change of clothes.
*. Photon Blast - Julius Nifta. Creates an energy sphere which pulls everything within one kilometer radius into it and disintegrates those touching the sphere.
*. Ring of Minor Protection. Guards against all low level ailments.
*. Ring of Nullification. Guards against harmful spells up to tier two. Has three charges which replenishes each day.
*. Flight Necklace: Enables the use of [Fly] spell.
*. Misc. Items: A number of useful items given by Ainz.
*. Photon Absorption: Able to copy Martial Arts performed in close distance.
*. Martial Arts: Evasion, Pace of The Wind, Flow Acceleration.
Name: Lily Vangraf
Height: 148 cm
Appearance: See gallery (Link at author's profile)
Class:
Loyal Dog (Level 10)
Devoted Dog (Level 10)
Fighter (Level 15)
Warrior (Level 15)
Champion (Level 15)
Battlemaster (Level 10)
The Creature Within (Level 0)
Equipment:
Helmet of The Valkyrie (Enchanted)
Armor of The Valkyrie (Enchanted)
Gauntlets of The Valkyrie (Enchanted)
Greaves of The Valkyrie (Enchanted)
Swords of The Valkyrie (Enchanted)
Ring of Nullification. Guards against harmful spells up to tier two. Has three charges which replenishes each day
Flight Necklace: Enables the use of [Fly] spell
Special Perks:
*. Wings of The Valkyrie (5 Pieces): Greatly increases speed and enables access to [Valkyrian Flight] spell
*. The Creature Within: Increase of all stats according to level.
*. Nullified Creature Within: Reduces the level of The Creature Within to zero because natural total level exceeds limit.
*. Photon Arts: Various foreign attack moves, bestowed by Ryu
*. Armor Enchantments: A plethora of enchantments on her armor, bestowed by Ainz.
*. Class Skills: A plethora of skills from the new classes gained from her evolution.
*. Misc. Items: A number of useful items given by Ainz.
Name: Alice Vegelshaft (Liz)
Height: 157 cm
Appearance: See Gallery (Link at author's profile)
Level: 24
Talent:
Hierophant of Language: Able to instantly learn new language if certain conditions are met. Also can instantly bestow knowledge of already known language to other people at great mana cost.
Job Levels:
Wizard: Level 6
Sorcerer: Level 5
Elementalist (Fire): Level 6
Scholar: Level 7
Equipment:
Wizard's Robe
Simple Short Dress
Leather Trousers
Leather Boots
Staff of Lesser Mana Regeneration
Flight Necklace: Enables the use of [Fly] spell
Travel Pack: A storage bag capable of storing much more items than its appearance would suggest
Special Perks:
*. Photon Techs: Various foreign spells, bestowed by Ryu.
*. Misc. Items: A number of useful items given by Ainz.
*. Martial Arts: Evasion.
Name: Mel Rose (Meru and Rose)
Height: 144 cm
Appearance: See Gallery (Link at author's profile)
Class: Force level 75 (Meru), Braver level 75 (Rose)
Sub Class: Techer level 75 (Meru), Fighter level 75 (Rose)
Skill Build (Meru): Fire, Dark, and Light element focused.
Skill Build (Rose): Full offensive glass cannon
Main Weapons (Meru): Nox Lipher Rod, Nox Krieg Talis
Main Weapons (Rose): Nox Sagephus Katana
Reserve Weapons: Koushousen Talis (Meru), Simple Short Sword (x2)
Special Perks:
*. Photon Inventory: Works the same way as Ainz's inventory system.
*. Photon Armor. A defensive invisible energy shield, giving protection to the whole body.
*. Photon Clothing. Enables instant change of clothes.
*. Photon Blast - Ketos Proi. Gradually heals and significantly regenerates mana while it is active.
*. Photon Absorption: Able to copy Martial Arts performed in close distance.
*. Martial Arts: Enhanced Magic Resistance, Impenetrable Fortress.
Name: Sheep (Hikaru Seika)
Height: 155 cm
Appearance: See gallery (Link at author's profile)
Race: Deuman
Class: Braver Level 70
Sub Class: Hunter Level 70
Main Weapon: Zam Ranazan Katana, B?i*?e I#?ig*?a
Reserve Weapon: Vibrace Bow
Special Perks:
*. Conceal Object: Illusion magic casted on her horns to make them invisible
*. Alter Object Color: Illusion magic casted on her left eye to make it identical in colors to her other eye
*. Photon Inventory: Works the same way as Ainz's inventory system.
*. Photon Armor. A defensive invisible energy shield, giving protection to the whole body.
*. Photon Clothing. Enables instant change of clothes.
*. Photon Blast - Ketos Proi. Gradually heals and significantly regenerates mana while it is active.
*. Photon Absorption: Able to copy Martial Arts performed in close distance.
