Hello, we meet again. Glad that I'm still able to keep up with my own schedule.
On with the show and see you again in the afterword, like always.
[X][X][X]
Have I been actually dreaming?
That was the question which had been lingering Alice's mind recently. Her life had been taking weird turns over the past few months, even more so during the past week, and right now she had no idea what to think and say anymore.
Everything about the strange turns had begun when, entirely by chance, she had overheard Ryu posting a job request of teaching him and Lily how to read. From there she had gotten to know that both of them were nothing ordinary. Not too long after that, her team had been wiped out and she was taken in by them, and things had only grown weirder.
Monsters of unbelievable strength, Lily being the daughter of an even more unbelievably powerful undead, and the revelation about the nature of this world were just some of the things Alice had encountered. There were too many to mention one by one.
And now, she was sitting in a vessel flying to the moon.
I can't even...
Alice had been taking in all the craziness stoically, not wanting anyone else to know how she had been struggling in processing everything in her mind. None of these made sense to her, but it was a fact that these absurd events were happening and she was involved in them. Thinking about it only made her sweat and look clearly agitated.
But suddenly, in the middle of her agitation, someone gently held her left hand. Alice was briefly startled, but she then slowly turned her head to the left, and what she immediately saw was the warm smile of Hikaru, the younger sister of Ryu whom she had met less than a week before.
"It's all right"
Hikaru spoke to Alice in a reassuring tone, and somehow all the agitation in Alice's mind disappeared within an instant. Alice had no idea why, but perhaps having a friend to assure her that everything would be all right was all she needed.
"Ah, yeah. Thanks..."
Alice replied to Hikaru, then she took a deep breath before speaking again.
"So, we are now going to your home?"
"Well, to be exact, it's the home of Meru, Rose, and Guardian. But it's still a home of ARKS, so yeah"
"Is it really alright for me to come over?"
Hikaru let out a small laugh in response to Alice's concern before replying.
"Why shouldn't it be? It's not a secret military base or such. Just think of it as any other city"
Alice didn't reply to Hikaru's words. She just lowered her head, realizing that she might have been thinking too much about it. One thing for sure, she was about to have an experience of a lifetime, and she was now determined to embrace it
[X][X][X]
Just yesterday I was having the Emperor of Baharuth Empire face me in an audience, and today I'm flying into space! It's crazy!
Ainz's skeletal face was the ultimate, and much needed, poker face during this kind of situation. One he had never imagined. Back on his Earth, flying to space had been nothing more than a pipe dream for a regular salaryman like him. Even after arriving in this world, the thought of spacefaring had never come to his mind. Yet it was exactly what he was doing right at this moment.
Come to think of it, what were the odds of meeting a person from a spacefaring-capable civilization in this straight-out-of-fantasy world?
Thinking about it, Ainz's purely coincidental meeting with Ryu had been the beginning of everything. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if he had ordered Sebas to retreat instead of ordering him to approach the sudden, unnatural tornado. If he had not met Ryu that day, he probably would have eventually encountered him some time later, but the situations would be vastly different.
My head is going to be a mess thinking about this too much. For now I'll embrace the current situation and look forward to witnessing the scenery of a spacefaring civilization.
Having collected himself, Ainz looked towards the front part of the passenger space. A magic item similar in function to a Mirror of Remote Viewing had been installed, showing what the golem pilot saw to everyone like a large viewing screen. Right now, it was visible that the spaceship had just left the atmosphere, showing the deep dark of space and its star constellations in front, the planet below, and the moon in the distance.
Ping!
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to experience a force of acceleration. Please remain in your seats and make sure your seatbelts are fastened"
The sudden pinging sound followed by the announcement voice, which sounded like Ainz himself, made Ainz want to dig a hole and disappear.
This is not a fucking airliner, Pandora's Actor! And why using my voice!?
Not wanting to know if the others were silently laughing at him or not, Ainz fixated his vision forward while tightening his sitting posture in preparation. As previously announced, Ainz soon felt an invisible force pushing him into his seat. The display at the front clearly showed that this spaceship was accelerating towards the moon, which seemed to become larger pretty quickly.
Within a couple minutes, the moon was close enough that it almost covered the entire screen. The ship slowed down and turned to go around the moon, and it was at this point Ainz felt excited, eager to see what an ARKS ship looked like. His mind and sight was basically tunneled towards the screen, anticipating to witness any foreign object which would be visible any second.
And soon, there it was.
As this ship went around the moon, a pointy object was gradually revealed, followed by three more, and finally the main body which contained a huge dome, inside which there were the silhouettes of skyscrapers. Now that the whole ship was visible, Ainz could see that the gargantuan ARKS ship had a sleek fuselage with three prongs smaller than the body attached to it, one underneath and one on each side. The city dome was placed near the very back of the fuselage, where a huge engine almost as big as the dome itself was installed.
"Is that... an ARKS ship?"
Ainz spoke the question, which was not directed at anyone. It was simply spoken out of astonishment because Ainz had literally never seen anything like that outside fictional media. It was like another whole new world for him, and probably Sebas, Lily, and Alice as well.
"Yes. That is Laguz, my home"
Guardian was the one answering Ainz's question. Ainz didn't respond back, still sinking in his amazement. But then he soon remembered something.
"Where should we go from here?"
"Ah, look, there are guiding lights"
Guardian pointed at the screen, and Ainz immediately looked back at it. Indeed, now there were an array of lights which seemed to be guiding the way. Ainz immediately put his finger near his ear and gave the command for the golem pilot to follow the guidelines.
After following the guidelines, the ship managed to land safely in what seemed like a hangar dedicated to various kinds of spaceships. During the landing process, Ainz could see through the screen that there were tens, if not hundreds, of other spaceships like this one he was riding, along with larger ones.
Vroom.. Psshhh...
The engine's humming sound faded away, signifying that the ship had successfully completed the landing. Ainz felt a sense of huge relief along with anticipation on what he would see upon stepping out of the ship.
"Welcome to Laguz, Lord Ainz"
Guardian spoke while taking her seatbelt off and standing up. The others, including Ainz, also did the same. After making sure that his mask and gauntlets were firmly in place, Ainz looked at Sebas and spoke.
"Keep this in mind, Sebas. We are the guests now, so we should behave properly"
"Certainly, Ainz-sama"
Sebas bowed as he gave his affirmation. The back hatch of the passenger space then opened, and Guardian was the one to come out first from this so-called Fighter ship. Ainz followed right behind her, and the first thing he saw upon coming out was a small group of people in engineering suits, seemingly mechanics at a glance, lined up and giving a salute in unison.
"Welcome home, Guardian! Thank you for your hard work!"
Guardian gave a slight nod in response, while Ainz became a little anxious inside his mind. It was quite apparent that his past assumption of Guardian being a big shot within ARKS was correct. Otherwise, she wouldn't be saluted upon like just now.
"This Fighter has been altered by foreign means, so it's better not to do anything with it until further notice. Also, these people are my guests and I'm going to show them around"
The mechanics gave their affirmation and dismissed themselves. Ainz was now even more sure about his assumption.
"Lord Ainz, if you would follow me"
Guardian spoke with her eyes glancing at Ainz.
"I am in your care, Guardian"
Ainz replied with a straight tone of voice, as so the whole group walked away from the Fighter with Guardian in the lead. They went past the exit, which led to a tunnel-like hallway sloping up. The other end was visible with the naked eye, and Ainz knew that whatever he would see upon reaching that spot would amaze him to no end. As he walked, the feeling of anticipation built up within him. He was highly excited like a child who was about to enter an amusement park for the first time in his life, but of course he wouldn't want anyone else to know that.
After a single minute which felt like forever to Ainz, the group arrived at the end of the hallway, and what Ainz immediately saw was a large room filled with people walking around doing their own activities. It was hard to put the scenery into words, but Ainz felt that the atmosphere was like the Adventurer's Guild. However, everything was visually futuristic it really made Ainz feel that he was in yet another world.
Ooooh! It's so amazing! I have never seen anything like this! Not even in my old world!
Ah, crap...
Sadly the excitement didn't last long because the emotion suppressor kicked in. Ainz had mixed feelings about this because he was once again denied of a positive emotion, but now the others wouldn't find out how he had been excited like a child, which would have been embarrassing.
"Before I really show you around, I'd like to introduce you to my operator Xiera if you don't mind"
Guardian spoke with her head turned towards Ainz. In response, Ainz made a slight nod before speaking.
"Very well"
Guardian then walked forward for a brief moment with the rest of the group following her, and then she stopped near a curious circular white plate on the floor.
"Please stand on this circle to go to the bridge. After you, Lord Ainz"
Oh! Is this a teleporter?
Ainz felt quite excited again seeing a teleporter which ran on technology instead of magic. He was so eager to try it out, he responded to Guardian with a nod and stepped on the circle immediately.
Thwack! Whoosh!
W-Whaaaaaat!?
Instead of getting teleported, Ainz was launched away across the large room all the way to the second floor balcony at the other end. He still managed to land on his two feet, but it had been a shocking experience regardless. Just seconds later, Sebas arrived there with the same method, followed by the others and lastly Guardian herself.
"What was that, Guardian?"
"Photon Catapult. We use that to move around quickly within the same room. See, there is one right here too, to go back to the same spot as before"
Guardian gestured her hand, pointing out that there was indeed another circular plate on the floor nearby.
I don't know how I should feel now. I expected a teleportation, but instead I got thrown like a ball. But I can't deny that it was... quite thrilling.
"Now this is the teleporter to the bridge. Please follow after me"
Guardian spoke as she walked towards a nearby open door which only had a small space behind it with a different-looking circular plate inside. There were several energy rings coming out from the plate, so it was quite easy to assume that this time it was a real technology-based teleporter. Guardian stepped on it, and she immediately vanished from view.
Ainz stepped into the plate, bearing the feelings of curiosity and excitement. For a very brief moment, everything in his sight became very bright. But soon his vision came back to normal, and he saw Guardian standing nearby.
That was... more or less the same. Still interesting, though.
Within seconds, the rest of the group came through the teleporter. Ainz looked around for a bit and noticed that this was another small space with a sliding door ahead, which was currently closed.
"Alright, everybody's here"
Guardian nodded as she spoke, then she walked towards the sliding door which opened as soon as she was near. The group followed, and the first thing which came into Ainz's sight was a large room with a fully transparent wall and ceiling, providing an unobstructed view of deep space ahead. This so-called bridge seemed to be a dome-like room located on the vertically highest point of the ship, since Ainz could see the nose of this gargantuan spaceship below at a far distance in front.
"Welcome home, Guardian! Great job out there!"
A cheerful female voice greeted Guardian as the group walked onto the bridge. It was the same girl who was in the floating display before, so Ainz could conclude that this girl was Xiera, Guardian's operator. She looked very human, but there was something about her eyes which didn't feel right. They were almost entirely sky blue without pupils.
"Thanks. So, everybody... this is Xiera. The overseeing administrator of this ship, and also my personal mission operator"
Guardian spoke to the rest of the group, introducing Xiera to them. The girl in question waved her hand and spoke, still in the same cheerful tone of speech.
"Hello there, everyone! Thanks for taking care of Guardian! I'm Xiera, a Hi-Cast assigned to be the overseer of Laguz! At your service!"
Guardian made a slight nod before speaking on behalf of the rest.
"Besides Mel Rose, these people are the allies I met during the mission. As you already know, Ryu and Hikaru are the ARKS operatives from the other dimension. As for the others, they are inhabitants of the planet. Perhaps you'd prefer to introduce yourselves?"
Guardian specially looked at Ainz as she spoke the last part. Noticing this, Ainz took a single step forward and spoke.
"My name is Ainz Ooal Gown. It is a pleasure to be your acquaintance. This is Sebas Tian, one of my most trusted subordinates, and this is Lily, my beloved daughter"
"It is a pleasure to meet you"
"Hi there, Xiera!"
As Sebas and Lily spoke to Xiera, Ainz looked at Alice who seemed to be still very astonished with the view.
"Would you like to introduce yourself or have me speak for you?"
"A-Ah, sorry. Let me"
Ainz nodded, and Alice spoke to Xiera, sounding slightly nervous.
"I'm Alice Vegelshaft, an Adventurer from E-Rantel. It's a city on the planet"
"Yes, I know. We have talked once, right? Through Mel Rose's communication link. In any case, nice to meet you in person, Alice!"
"Right. Nice to meet you too"
After seeing the introduction between Alice and Xiera, Guardian turned her head towards Ainz and spoke.
"So, Lord Ainz. I suppose that there is something important you want to talk about that you have decided to come here in person?"
You can't be even further from the truth! I'm here simply because I'm curious about this place! No more, no less!
At this point, Ainz's curiosity towards this gargantuan spaceship had already defeated his desire to upkeep his appearance as an overlord, so he immediately chose to be honest about it.
"To tell you the truth, no. I am merely curious about this home base of yours, and I would like to walk around enjoying the scenery. Would it be too much trouble for you?"
"Well, actually..."
Before Guardian could finish her speech, Xiera quickly intervened.
"Guardian! Urgent directive!"
Guardian rolled her eyes and facepalmed, seemingly knowing what Xiera was about to say next, and it would be unpleasant for her.
"Be the tour guide for Ainz Ooal Gown!"
"Yeah, yeah... Anyway, Ryu and Hikaru, you may want to check out the Class Counter. Get your classes in sync with the advancements this ARKS has done"
"But, aren't we, you know, not registered here?"
Ryu asked the question, clearly sounding confused and concerned. But then Xiera quickly gave an answer.
"No worries! I've already taken care of it! Just go there like you always have!"
"If you say so, alright then"
"So, what about me? I mean, us?"
Ainz looked at the one who had just asked the question. It was none other than Rose, who indeed had nothing of importance here for the time being. From what Guardian had told him before, Rose was Guardian's mission objective to escort back home. Now that she was already home, there was nothing for her to do.
Guardian folded her arms, and then she spoke to Rose with a smile.
"Meru and Rose, you're free to go. Get some rest, you deserve it"
"Heh, in that case I'll be their tour guide. Doing nothing is boring, you know"
Rose put her arms on her hip while looking at Ryu, Lily, Hikaru, and Alice.
"Well, we are in your care then"
Ryu spoke his affirmation, and nobody else seemed to disagree.
"That's settled then! Enjoy your stay and have fun, everyone! Oh, before I forget, like I said before, our R&D staff Ludmilla wants to examine the Fighter so bad! But I know I have to ask for the consent of the one who has done the work!"
Xiera spoke, her eyes glancing at Ainz as she reached the last part of her speech. Ainz immediately knew what she meant, and so he spoke in response.
"The ship was your property to begin with, but try your best not to end up damaging my work. No hard feelings if that happens, but it will be sad regardless"
"Thank you for your consent, A-... Umm, Lord Ainz, wasn't it?"
"Yes, but right now I am just a guest like any other. There is no need to address me with reverence"
"Alright then! Once again, enjoy your stay and have fun!"
The group then left the bridge via the previously used teleporting device, and separated into two. Ainz's group consisted of himself, Sebas, and Guardian who acted as the tour guide.
The three of them took an elevator down, and what Ainz saw upon the elevator door opening was a bright, lively area filled with people walking around. Seeing lined up shops around, Ainz got a feeling akin to being in a shopping mall, and a futuristic one while at it.
Oooh! Fascinating!
"This is the shopping area for ARKS. We buy and trade various things here. There is also a shop which provide equipment upgrade service"
The group walked as Guardian spoke. The last part of her speech reminded Ainz about something, but before he could think about it further...
"Hmm, it seems you have failed!"
"NOOOOOO!"
Ainz heard a voice of a man, followed by the wailing of another man. Ainz looked at the direction the voices came from, and what he saw was a man kneeling down with his head hanging in despair in front of a shop with a purple banner.
"What happened there, Guardian?"
"I'm guessing he failed an expensive affix. It's a common occurrence at the Item Lab shop"
Ainz couldn't help becoming curious about the shop Guardian had mentioned, therefore he asked a question.
"Can I get a brief explanation about that shop?"
"Well, it's the place where you can upgrade the strength of your weapon and also affix it. For the latter, maybe you are more familiar with the term 'augment' or 'enhancement'. In any case, both services risk failing and there are limited ways to mitigate the risk, but not always completely. It's down to luck, really"
"No refund, compensation, or such upon failing?"
"No, because like I said, it's down to luck. He chose to take the risk, and he lost the bet. I've been in his shoes several times, so I know the pain. But eh, that's life"
"Hmm..."
Ainz put his hand under his chin, thinking about something he currently had in his possession. The research on this thing had met a dead end in Nazarick, so Ainz had decided to keep it in his inventory.
"Guardian, can I bring this to that shop?"
As Ainz spoke, he pulled something from his inventory, which was a large curved purple greatsword with jagged blade. Guardian's eyes went slightly wider upon seeing the weapon.
"Is that... Elder Pain? Where did you get that?"
"I fought against Falz Hunar once, and this was left behind. So, about my question..."
"Such luck... Anyway, yes, you can. Though this weapon is an old type, so upgrading the strength is more difficult than normal"
"I would like to try anyway, if not too much trouble"
"Well, alright I guess"
With Guardian in the lead, Ainz went to the so-called Item Lab shop. The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with black unkempt hair and mild moustache. Upon approach, the man bowed and greeted.
"Hohoho! What do you need?"
The man's voice sounded like he was looking down on his customer, and that briefly made Ainz feel uneasy. But Ainz immediately responded by putting the Elder Pain sword on the counter.
"I would like to strengthen this weapon"
As Ainz spoke, some other people around looked with various expressions. Ainz could even hear some of them speaking among themselves.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"It's Elder Pain. The classic Elder Pain"
"Woah, it's been years since the last time I saw one"
Those were all expressions of fascination, which made Ainz feel proud of himself. Nevertheless, the shopkeeper spoke.
"Old type Elder Pain, huh? I wish you luck"
"Oh, put the tabs on me"
Guardian spoke, clearly indicating that she would pay all the cost. Ainz had no idea how expensive this service would be, but he promised himself that he would repay it to Guardian some time later.
Several minutes after...
"You have luck, brilliantly!"
The shopkeeper, whom Ainz now knew that his name was Dudu, exclaimed with quite an excited tone, while all other people nearby, Guardian included, stared with their mouth agape.
"Okay... that's the first time I see someone succeeding all ten upgrading steps in a row, on an old type Elder Pain. Are you born lucky or what?"
Before Ainz could respond to the question, a nearby stranger suddenly spoke to him.
"E-Excuse me, sir! Would you sell that Elder Pain to me? I'll pay five million meseta!"
"No, please sell it to me instead! Five and a half million meseta!"
Another stranger spoke, and within seconds an offer war started between a number of strangers.
"Six million!"
"Seven!"
"Screw it! Ten million!"
Before things went out of control, Ainz quickly spoke in a slightly amplified voice.
"I apologize, but I have no intention at all to sell this Elder Pain"
"Aww..."
The people who had been raining offers lowered their head in disappointment, and they all left. Ainz then looked at Guardian and spoke.
"So, is it done?"
"Actually, not really. Now you can have the weapon's potential unlocked, but doing that will revert the strength of the weapon, and you have to grind it again. This will repeat three times for maximum potential strength"
"I see..."
Several minutes later once again...
"You have luck, brilliantly!"
Guardian sank her head on the counter, facepalming as Dudu spoke in the same excited tone.
"Your luck is through the roof, Lord Ainz. I can't ever imagine the total of forty steps with no failures at all, yet that was what just happened. Are you the god of fortune himself?"
Don't ask me! I don't know why myself!
Ainz genuinely had no idea why he had been so lucky, something which had never been the case in his old world. Now that this topic was brought up, Ainz pondered about many things which had happened in New World. There were a few bad things such as the Shalltear incident and Entoma's death, but if he thought about it there were a whole lot more good things and quite a number of them had been things with low probability of happening, such as Sebas encountering Swords of Darkness team within a week and Lily evolving. Heck, even meeting Ryu for the first time back then had been purely by chance, and without it Ainz probably wouldn't be here now.
"To be perfectly honest, I have no idea and I am curious about it myself. Is there another place where I can test my own luck?"
"Well, how about turning around?"
Ainz had no idea what Guardian meant by her answer, but Ainz turned around and looked at what he could see behind him. It only took him seconds to notice an entrance decorated with flashy, colorful light shows at a distance. Even though Ainz couldn't read the writings of ARKS, he could easily guess where the entrance would lead him.
"Casino? ARKS has a casino?"
"Yes. Want to try your luck there?"
"Hmm..."
Ainz put his hand over his chin, pondering about the matter.
Half an hour later...
"Jackpot! We have a lucky winner today!"
A very loud announcement echoed all over the casino. Ainz, who was sitting right in front of a chicken-like mascot themed slot machine, was now having a bright spotlight shining and coins rained down upon him because he somehow scored a jackpot. The coins disappeared upon touching the floor, so he didn't get buried in the slightest. Ainz had already been informed that actual winnings were deposited to the player's account, in this case Guardian's because Ainz had been playing the casino games by borrowing Guardian's coins.
What the fuck is with this luck!? Now I'm starting to get scared...
Without saying any words, Ainz stood up from the slot machine seat and walked away. Guardian and Sebas silently followed as a number of strangers gave a merry applause. Despite the lingering worry about his own luck, Ainz wouldn't deny that this casino had been a fun experience for him, especially the one game where he got to control a mobile turret to shoot at octahedral creatures named 'Mesetans'. He had never had this kind of fun in his lifetime, both in the New World and old world.
As the group walked towards the front door of the casino, Ainz asked a question to Guardian.
"Guardian, since all the winnings went into you, does that mean you are now a lot richer?"
"Hmm? Nah, not at all. The coins can only be exchanged with items that are mostly useless to me by now"
"Ah, pity. I was hoping it could have become my form of repayment for grinding that Elder Pain"
"Huh? There's no need to repay me or anything. Several hundred thousands meseta is nothing for me"
"No, it is my principle to return any favor no matter how small. Therefore I shall repay you in some way as soon as I am able"
"Then in that case, the casino coins are more than enough. I still buy some limited items here, which is resupplied weekly. With the jackpot I can buyout the weekly supply without care for a very long time"
"Is that so? Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am as sure as I can be"
"Very well- Huh?"
Ainz's speech was cut because as he came out from the exit of the casino back to the shopping area, he noticed that the place was now a lot darker than before. In addition, there were more people gathering around this time, and they seemed to be waiting for something in anticipation.
"Oh, good timing"
Guardian said while smiling in mild excitement. Ainz still had no idea, but since Guardian was not alerted in a bad way, he was reassured that whatever was happening was something good.
"Any quick explanation, Guardian?"
"Idol singer concert. Would you like to watch?"
"Oh..."
Ainz was familiar with the term, even though he had never actually seen any, both in New World and old world. Nevertheless, Ainz was impressed that this ARKS ship never seemed to run out of surprises in store for him.
"Sure, no reason to pass on this"
"Let's find a good spot then!"
Guardian held Ainz's hand and pulled him as she walked and Sebas silently followed. It didn't take long until the group found a good spot to stand, and soon a floating stage appeared in the center of the area.
Over the course of the next five minutes, Ainz totally froze up in fascination. The concert he was spectating was no mere concert. It was a truly refined performance which emulated a single angel, played by the idol singer, fighting against a bunch of Darker holograms with her dual-wielded SMGs. What amazed Ainz even more was the timely arrival of a reinforcement when the angel was surrounded, and this reinforcement was a large robot at least 5 meters tall. The angel and the robot worked together, ultimately fighting against and destroying a giant Darker hologram.
Ainz was utterly speechless seeing all this. It was an experience he never had before, and definitely something he never would have if he had not become acquainted with ARKS. At this point, Ainz felt very glad that he had made an alliance with ARKS, and he genuinely hoped that the alliance would last. This was truly an enjoyable experience, and only the time he had spent with his friends in YGGDRASIL could compare.
[X][X][X]
At the Class Counter, Ryu and Hikaru looked at their respective photon interface with a feeling of disbelief. They knew that the ARKS of this universe was more advanced than their ARKS, but they didn't expect the difference to be this significant. All the class skills were now arranged in a way that their skill points could be allocated much more efficiently than ever before, and quite a number of the skills were now clearly better.
"Photon Flare doesn't cause self pain anymore and lasts longer? The self pain from PP Convert is much less now? Damn, this is crazy good!"
Ryu exclaimed his amazement as he allocated the available skill points for his updated class alignment. Meanwhile, Hikaru was pretty much the same, letting out a small laugh as she noticed a few things on her updated skill list.
"Many things cost less skill points now. Also, what's this? A skill to... drink faster? Teeheehee"
Ryu let out a small sigh before he spoke to Hikaru.
"Would you ever quit laughing like Yamino? It doesn't suit you, really"
"Nope. I like your annoyed face"
Hikaru smirked as she spoke to Ryu, who just rolled his eyes in response. As he did it, he noticed Alice at the corner of his sight, standing around while looking somewhat anxious. Lily on the other hand was looking at the scenery around her, seemingly still being fascinated by the all-new environment.
"Ah, sorry, Liz. This might take a few more minutes"
"Hmm? Oh, it's fine. I was just..."
Alice was unable to continue her speech. Instead, her eyes seemed to be glancing back and forth to the Class Counter.
"Ryu, this is just me wondering, but... Am I right to guess that the officers of this place can customize your abilities on a whim by your request?"
"Yes, that's right"
"Can they do the same... to me?"
"Eh? What...?"
Ryu couldn't help being taken by surprise hearing Alice's question. He knew the answer, but he was worried it would be too disappointing for her. Then again, he didn't know how he should sugarcoat the answer either, so he decided to give a straight answer.
"Sorry Liz, but I don't think so. You're not an ARKS operative to begin with"
"Oh... Then, can I become one?"
As she spoke, Alice's eyes clearly showed that she was fully serious with her question. Ryu and Hikaru looked at each other, the latter briefly raised her shoulders, not knowing what to say.
"I honestly don't know. This is the first time a native inhabitant of a planet asks for it. I have no idea about the procedures to follow"
Right after Ryu spoke, suddenly...
"First time for you, not the first time for us!"
Xiera spoke through Ryu's communication device. Both his and Hikaru's had just been replaced anew by the Class Counter attendant as part of the service, so now they could properly link communication again.
"Is that so, Xiera?"
Ryu spoke as he activated his photon interface to display Xiera's portrait.
"Yes! Though it was a peculiar circumstance, them being ARKS without becoming one... A-Anyway! If she consents, bring her to the Medical Center for photon aptitude examination! I'll take care of the rest!"
The link with Xiera ended, and Ryu looked straight at Alice as he spoke.
"Well, you heard her. But just asking, are you sure?"
Alice was silent for just a couple seconds, and then she nodded with her eyes still showing her determination.
"Yes"
"Alright, then"
The group began walking towards the ARKS Medical Center after Ryu and Hikaru finished their new skill point allocations. Rose, who had been silent all the time after leaving the bridge, spoke to Ryu on the way.
"Ryu, can I... wait somewhere else?"
As she spoke, she seemed to be anxious, her hand fidgeting with a clear display of uneasiness.
"Hmm? Why?"
"I... I just remembered... that they are there..."
"They who? Oh..!"
Right after asking, Ryu suddenly remembered about Rose's backstory. The people from the Research Division who wanted to examine Rose's unique ability, which was thanks to Meru's existence, were likely stationed at the Medical Center. Even though Guardian had assured him that they were now not as bad as when Luther had been in charge, Ryu was still skeptical about it.
"Yes, yes. I see. Alright, you can go anywhere else you like. No need to wait for us"
"Really?"
"We now have our communication device again, and we're in an ARKS ship. So don't worry about us"
Rose seemed to smile a little, then she bowed.
"Thank you! I'll see you later!"
"Lily. Please keep her company in the meantime"
"Sure, Ryu-san!"
Rose and Lily then left the group, which resumed their walk to the Medical Center. Once they arrived, they had no difficulties proceeding to the examination section, and thankfully Ryu and Hikaru were allowed to accompany Alice during the procedures.
The examination consisted of a short interview, followed by a machine-scanning. The officer who did the examination procedures was professional and did everything properly, but Ryu and Hikaru still watched closely just in case, and also to assure Alice that she would be alright.
After everything was over, the officer spoke behind his desk with his own photon interface activated, displaying a lot of floating panels with texts and charts.
"I'm glad to inform you that according to the test results, your photon aptitude is remarkably strong. You are more than eligible to become an ARKS member"
Alice looked delighted hearing the news, while Ryu and Hikaru had mixed feelings. On one hand they were happy for Alice, but on the other hand they were still not sure what would happen after Alice became an ARKS member for real.
"The attendant of the Class Counter has been notified. You may go there to finalize your registration and have the photon alignment of your body adjusted"
"Thank you"
Alice spoke while still looking delighted as she stood up from her seat and shook hands with the officer. Later, as the group was walking back to the Class Counter, Ryu spoke to Alice to ask a question.
"Liz, since you've already said that you're sure, I won't ask again. But I'm wondering, why are you doing this?"
Liz's eyes glanced at Ryu for a moment, then she gave her answer after a brief silence.
"Well, to put it short, it's power. It's simply a fact that despite what you and Ainz had told me, I'm still the weakest of the group, and by a large margin while at it. At my current state, if someday we fight against a dangerous foe like that Apostolo Dragon, you'll tell me to stay away again, won't you?"
Ryu didn't reply because everyone knew that she was right. Alice then immediately resumed her speech.
"Well, I'm not going to have that. I want to fight alongside you as your equal, not a lesser combatant you have to cover for. That's why I decided to take the chance to become stronger. Moreover..."
Alice went silent again for a second, and then she resumed.
"Don't you want me to be stronger?"
Alice's head was turned straight at Ryu and Hikaru as she asked the question with her eyes full of determination.
"Well, of course. I'd be lying if I said otherwise"
"Yes, you're right, Alice"
The group continued walking as Ryu and Hikaru gave their answer. Soon, they were at the Class Counter once again and Alice was able to finalize her registration like the officer had told her.
"Alice Vegelshaft. With this, you are now an honorary ARKS member. Welcome aboard"
The Class Counter attendant spoke with the displays of his own photon interface floating around him like the Medical Center officer back then.
"Thank you. But what does the 'honorary' part mean?"
"Because you are a native inhabitant of a foreign planet instead of an Oracle-born citizen, your membership is honorary. That means you may make use of all ARKS facilities without the obligations normally assigned to other ARKS members. However, there are features you are still restricted from. The most prevalent example is this photon interface you see me using"
"I see. What about my class?"
The attendant nodded, and he presented one of the photon interface displays to Alice.
"Here is the list of classes, along with your eligible level for each class"
Ryu came closer behind Alice to see the display, and Hikaru did the same. Seeing the list, Ryu immediately commented.
"As expected, Force and Techer are the highest because you're originally a magic caster"
"Level 50 for Force, 45 for Techer. What's your level, if I may ask?"
Alice asked while still looking at the list. The rest of the classes were very low compared to those two, and there were also two greyed out classes which Ryu didn't know about at all. One of those two was Phantom, which Ryu remembered to be Guardian's class.
"I'm level 70"
"Me too"
Ryu and Hikaru gave their answers, and Alice spoke again without changing her facial expression.
"How do I increase my level?"
"By getting experienced in battles"
"Yeah, of course. Anyway, do you have any recommendations?"
Ryu went into thinking after hearing Alice's question. He didn't want to keep her waiting for too long, so he immediately spoke his thoughts.
"Since those two are the highest, it's most logical to take one as the main class while taking the other as subclass. Force main Techer sub is solid, but I'm already that, so there's redundancy to consider. Techer main is an excellent support class, but using Force as a subclass is... I'm not sure"
"Why is Techer main excellent at support?"
"Well, if I look at the Techer skill tree, there are skills which make Shifta and Deband significantly more potent, and those skills have no effect if Techer is used as subclass"
"Alright, Techer main Force sub it is"
Alice spoke quickly, and she sounded serious with her decision. Before either Ryu or Hikaru could speak, she followed up.
"It's clear as day that I'm still weaker than both of you, so I thought to become your support to make myself still useful. Was I right thinking that way?"
"Hmm, I have nothing to disagree with"
"Me too. It's actually a sound decision"
Alice nodded with a determined smile after hearing the answers from Ryu and Hikaru. The next ten minutes were spent allocating Alice's skill points for both her classes, and after everything was done they got together with Rose and Lily once again.
As the group later went sightseeing around the shopping area, Ryu began thinking about his next course of action. Now that he was in an ARKS ship again, although not the same ARKS he knew, was there any reason to go back to E-Rantel and stay there? Wouldn't it be actually more efficient to stay here in Laguz, going back to the planet only when the need arose?
After a few minutes, Ryu stopped pondering about it. He decided to just enjoy his time in Laguz for now and bring the topic up for discussion once the whole group met up at the bridge again later.
[X][X][X]
Afterword:
The group separated into two, each having their own fun and delight. Ainz have essentially solidified his alliance with ARKS, while most members of Ryu's group have obtained a power upgrade which they may or may not need in the near future.
See you again in another two weeks.
