ACT ONE, CHAPTER ONE
In an unknown location, deep within a cave, deep enough to store a dozen limousine head to tail and wide enough to park the same number sideways, lies a silhouette of slumbering man.
GROARGHHHHHHH! ZZZZZIIP!
His posture was unrefined, like how one would looked like when one's passed out from a night of heavy drinking. And from the way his chest slow yet steadily rises and falls, the man seems to be asleep.
GROARGHHHHHHH! ZZZZZIIP!
Basing from the intensity of his snoring, the man is sleeping deeply as a well-fed snorlax.
Thankfully, the man's circadian rhythm does its duty and awaken the man, relieving anyone within the area from hearing his horrendous snoring.
It's also quite surprising for the man, who could sleep deeply as a snorlax to awaken faster than a very sensitive car alarm, all the while resisting the urge to continue sleeping.
Although now awake, the man refused to open his eyes. His arms however, begin their first duty of the day.
Which is, to find his phone.
Like most young adult, who is living in the modern, he begins his day by searching that damn elusive thing in his bed.
He visibly frowned when his hands can't seem to locate his phone. He was starting to believe that his phone developed enough sentient to avoid being captured.
Like most young adult, it's the deciding factor whether he'll go back to sleep or get up. Especially, when he knows that it's his day-off. For instance, if he sees an update about the mangas and novels he's tuning at, he'll read them instead of returning to sleep.
As his hand blindly searches for his elusive phone, he finally noticed the texture of his bed. Although, he knows his bed was already worn and ragged, it has never been this rough. It's almost like he isn't in his bed.
It's like, it's like he's lying on an uneven surface.
Confused but still adamant not to open his eyes, he used his sense of smell to sniff out the difference.
Sniff, sniff. Sniff, sniff.
He was expecting to pick up the scent of Downy fabric conditioner he always use. But that wasn't the case. Instead, his nose picked up something else.
Unbeknownst to him, his heightened sense of smell is still very sensitive. A few sniffs felt like his nose was stuffed with heavy amounts of soil, mud, and mold. All the while, feeling that he is being force-fed by those things.
His eyes blown wide open. He quickly sat up faster than a gunshot. He began hacking and coughing, trying to expel as much scents as he could.
When he finally felt comfortable with his enhanced sense of smell, he immediately scanned his surroundings for… well, anything really.
Like a threatened predator, he quickly adjusted his posture. He instinctively crouched down, his muscle flexed and coiled, as his eyes frantically scanning for sign of threat.
He waited a minute or so to pass, seeing no sign of threat or whatsoever, he slowly lowered his guard.
{Where is this? Where am I?} The man thought as he examine the unfamiliar surroundings. He was searching for any sort of information he could make use.
{It looks like I woke up in a cave.} He concluded.
His initial fear and apprehension quickly bled out. The man was no longer confused nor afraid of his current predicament. Instead, he became cool and collected.
From his quick change in attitude, the man looked like he had training or had experienced something like this before.
Like how his sense of smell was enhanced, his vision was also enhanced. He could perfectly see through the darkness.
Though he has noticed it, the man didn't dwell on it. His heightened senses isn't a priority. In fact, he welcomed such upgrade. Superior senses could drastically increase his rate of survival.
The man kept scanning his surroundings. Seeing nothing but the typical things found in an above ground cavern, he stopped.
{What the?!} His gaze landed on a pale hand, correction, hands, to be more specific, his pale hands.
If he has not awoken in someone god forsaken cavern, his skin tone would have been an eyebrow raising situation. After all, he had done what he could to lighten his dark skin tone. Also, his pale skin tone pales in comparison to the rings nestled in each of his finger.
Seeing such exquisitely made rings, he felt breathless. It wasn't just because they were beautiful. No, that would be too shallow. The reason he felt breathless because those rings radiate contained power. He could feel that it's something along the lines of magic and mystery.
{What could these be?}
He sighs in frustration.
His untrained eyes could not pick up anything other than how beautiful those look and his gut feeling.
Looking at the rings, he thought:
"Possessing this rings could be a boom or a curse."
He look at the rings once more. The way they glimmer and sparkle seemed to be taunting him. It is as if they were daring him if he would dare throw them way.
He lets out an undignified snort.
"I'm keeping these."
After all, who in a right might would throw rings with untold power? Even Gollum chose to die along his precious than be separated from it.
(A/N: Gollum is a character in Lord of the Rings, who is the keeper of 'One Ring'.)
His gaze moves on his clothing.
Apparently, it is not just the rings that screams they're expensive.
He's wearing a shiny sequin three piece slim fit tuxedo. It used a combination of black, white, and golden cloth, finished with silver themed accessories.
He runs his hand on one of sleeves and found that he liked the texture of his clothing. It felt silkier than silk, softer than any cotton that he could ever own, and very cool to the touch.
{Yup, this clothing is definitely very expensive.} He thought as he kept feeling the texture of the clothing. At one point, he wondered if what kind of fabrics was used to make this fabulous clothing. And in an unrelated note, can they make beddings using the said fabric?
The idea of sleeping in bed and clothing made from the same fabric would be so amazing.
He stops at that line of thought.
Then, he grimaced. Thoughts of sleeping was not a priority. He should be recounting how he came here first.
{And it's because that I'm such a deep sleeper that led me to waking up in this scenario.} He added.
{Also, who is a right mind would anyone wear such an expensive clothing and sleep in a cave?!}
And then epiphany struck.
Waking up in an unknown location?
Check!
Waking up in what looks like somebody else's body?
Check!
"Those two are very familiar requirements for…"
"HOLY SH*T!"
{He couldn't—}
He wanted to stop his line of thought. He feared that he'll wake up and found out that it's just a dream. He won't be able to continue living if he wakes up from this blissful dream.
"No, no, no! It's impossible! This is impossible. This is all just a dream!" He tried hitting himself to wake himself up but he was not dealing any substantial damage.
His eyes locked on to the nearest cavern wall.
He strode towards it, filled with all the resolve he could muster, when he was close enough, the man slammed his head to it as hard as he could.
BANG!
The sound of a cavern being smashed violently could be heard, and the whole cavern seemed to be shaking from the impact.
When all is said and done, silence descended.
"What the!"
The man didn't felt any pain from the impact. It left like he smashed his head against water.
Opening his eyes, he saw a crater where his head had hit.
"Woah!"
He could not believe his head is that hard nor how much force had he used to cause such damage.
No matter how much he wish to deny it, the idea has taken root. And like how a glass of water changes color with a single drop of dye, he embraced the thought.
"I really did transmigrate." His voice filled with resignation.
"I really did transmigrate!" He repeats. This time, his happiness bleeding in.
"I REALLY DID TRANSMIGRATE! YES! FREEDOM FROM THE CRUEL CAPITALISM! I HAVE ESCAPED MUNDANE WORLD AND A MEANS TO START ANEEWWW!" He yelled on top of his voice, as tearing pouring out of his eyes.
The joy of getting another chance to find happiness, to find a purpose, and gaining freedom. It felt so exhilarating, it left him sobbing like a child.
Like any human beings who has no life outside their soul-sucking jobs, he also wished for a means to escape but unable to find one. Hence, reading is the only option.
Reading is his solace. He vicariously live through the characters in the stories he read.
He had read countless stories. Some of them were centered around the theme of transmigration and reincarnation. And like that of those protagonists, it brought him immeasurable joy that he got a shot of a new life in a different world.
When he finally got his bearing, he tries recalling all what he had learn from the stories he read.
{Who says that reading those fantasy-themed stories aren't educational?} He smiled in satisfaction.
In those stories, the main protagonist awaken in a different world, in a different body. It is then either of the three scenario could occur. One, they get the memories of the owner of the body they are now inhabiting. Two, they don't get anything. And the last and the most uncommon, the two soul will fuse together becoming a whole new entity.
With that knowledge, he goes digging into his mind, trying to see if could access memories of the body. Coming up empty, he guessed that his situation isn't the first scenario nor the last.
"This could be troublesome." He uttered.
Going in blind is never a good strategy. Then again, he can't and won't complain. He'll just have to make do with what he has.
Nodding to that line of though, he proceeded to think about his current situation. Like how should he proceed?
{Having no information about this world is quite daunting. This means that I have go out there and a source of the much needed information. Once I have a general idea about this world, I'll start from there.}
Feeling that is his the best course of action, he'll do just that.
There are a lot of questions that started popping into his head. The likes of, who was the one using this body? What happened to him? How and why did he end up here?
Curios to how he looks, he surveyed the cave for any reflective surface but as he expected for a cave, it has none whatsoever. This meant that he has to leave the comfort of the cave to look for one.
The man looks at the direction where the sound of the rustling leaves and gentle breeze were coming from.
{No. Leaving the cave is not wise. Well at least, not yet.}
Knowing that it's much safer in here than immediately going outside, he doesn't dare to go out there.
From what he knows, some transmigrators or reincarnators will immediately experience a life and death scenario after a few moments of their arrival.
This, in turn, forces them to use and learn about their golden finger / cheat / unique ability or whatever OP bullshit the author had blessed them with.
And as expected from a protagonist, they possess the so called protagonist's halo ensuring they will survive the first encounter
That's all and great.
But…
The same couldn't be said for him.
Although he isn't that particularly unlucky. His luck scale though is leaning more on the unlucky side. With that in mind, he isn't mental enough to bet his life just to see if he'll undergo the baptism of first blood.
{I don't want to die! I just got here! I haven't seen the world beyond this cave!}
"…"
That last thought left him with contradicting feelings.
{What should I do?}
It is normal for humans to treasure their life. This is why humans fear the unknown. It new, unidentified, and unexplained. Self-preservation at its finest.
On the other hand, he'll need such as food and water to drink. He's sure as hell he won't find any in here. And most importantly, he is a social creature. He'll want engage with social interaction with somebody.
Making a Wilson won't do him good.
(A/N: In the film Castaway (2000), Wilson is a volleyball serves as Chuck Noland's personified friend and his only companion during four years he spend alone on a deserted Island.)
"I have to take the risk." His voice filled with resolve and finality.
Deep down, he knew this but don't want to acknowledge it.
"For the meantime, I need to know what this body can—no, what I can do." He muttered. After all, knowing one's self is important as knowing the enemy.
Feeling himself through his clothing, he notices that he is fairly build.
{I wonder if this has experience in fighting?} He thought looking at the crater he had made.
Looking at its size, he could safely assume that his body has quite a strength. But he is unsure to how would it compare against the inhabitants of this world.
In his entire mundane life, he never had the desire to learn any fighting skills. After all, the need for such skill is infinitesimally small. He never knew that he'll regret not learning about it until now.
As he was lamenting that he didn't have knowledge of martial art, information from his head suddenly unraveled itself.
Information came pouring in. all of which is about fighting. The likes of breathing exercise to temper himself, an unnamed fighting style that suits him, and how to fight a battle when he is either armed or unarmed.
Snapping out of trances, he immediate performed a series of katas.
As he does so, he came to understand that his fighting style is precise yet destructive, elegant yet brutal.
Upon finishing the routine, he felt very satisfied and excited.
More importantly, it also explain why he acted that way when he awakened. Why he is so calm and collected, despite how surprising his situation was. Those weren't just a coincidence. He had training. Well, its previous owner has. And even without the knowledge, his body instinctively done so. Like a well-trained fighter.
{Whoever this person is, he isn't someone to be taken down that easy.}
This also made him rethink about his predicament.
He gained a bit of info about this body. Although he didn't get the whole picture, he's still happy that he has a better means to defend himself other than his suspiciously great amount of strength.
Uncaring if he'll get dirty, he sat down and reviews his knowledge about transmigration. Hoping that it could somehow help his condition.
Not a minute later, he recalls a very useful piece of information.
"That its! Why didn't I think about it before!?" He excitedly slapped his thigh for forgetting about that.
"Status!"
The moment the word 'status' was uttered, a transparent window suddenly appeared in front of him. From what he could see, it looked like that of those typical game menu screens.
The screen displayed the following information:
Character Name: Tyrean T. Photel
Epithet: The Richest
Level: 100
Karma: -1000 Master of Evil
Racial Class: (↓)
Job Class:
Hands of Midas Lv. 5
Soul Merchant Lv. ?
Merchant Lv. 15
Artisan Lv. ?
Racial + Job Level : 15 to 85
HP : 100 + (Exceed Limit)
MP : 100 + (Exceed Limit)
Phy. Atk. : 50 (Adaptive)
Phy. Def. : 100 + (Exceed Limit)
Agility : 95 (Fixed)
Mag. Atk. : 50 (Adaptive)
Mag. Def. : 100 + (Exceed Limit)
Resistance : 100 + (Exceed Limit)
Special : 100 + (Exceed Limit)
Total : 795 + (variable)
"So this world is an RPG-based universe!" He mutters happily. Although, this presents a whole new set of questions, he still feels happy that it was this one not a cultivation universe.
If he was given a choice to choose between an RPG-based universe and cultivation universe, he'll pick the former choice in a heartbeat.
Cultivation universe is, erm… isn't tasteful.
Don't get him wrong, it's not that he didn't like cultivation universe. He could make a long list of cultivation stories that he had enjoyed.
But the majority of them are too much.
Between the constant harem, the large number of quick-to-anger petty antagonists, the concept of cultivation itself and its stages, cultivation techniques and pills long-ass-f**king names are some of the things he doesn't want to deal with.
He sighs in relief. He continued on.
"My new name is Tyrean T. Photel, huh. Neat! Ty, rean, Potel? Photel? Let's go with Potel. Tyyyreeean. Pooootelll." He continued to utter his name aloud trying how it feels through his tongue.
Moving on, he seemed to have the title of 'The Richest'.
Somehow that didn't surprise him. By the quality of his clothing and his exquisite rings alone was enough to make him believe that he's rich.
{It makes perfect sense.} He nods.
"It looks very familiar." Looking at the display format, Tyrean has a feeling that he had seen something like this before. But, he can't seem to recall where.
So, he simply shrugged and moved on.
His eyes landed on his racial class. As soon as he did, everything went to hell.
All of a sudden, he is subject to pain so great, it made him lose all coherent thoughts. And as his mental faculties shuts down, his ability perceive pain grew. Beyond words. Beyond thoughts. Beyond pain itself.
He could feel his soul tearing itself apart. He could feel it tearing itself ever so slowly. As if it was deliberately doing so to torture him.
Tyrean doesn't know how long it went on.
All he knew that his soul tearing itself into two, then four, then eight, it went on and on and on. Once it tore itself into trillions of pieces, it reforms into something new, healing all the cuts, before tearing itself again.
The process happened over and over.
[x]
Tyrean lay splayed on the cavern floor, uncaring if he'd get dirty nor how uneven the cavern floor is.
His dazed look, suggest that he is still in catatonic state.
His body occasionally twitches here and there as he was electrocuted. All in all, he looks like a patient from a mental hospital, who had undergone lobotomy.
He has no idea when it all end, how long it went for, nor what caused him to experience such pain. All that matters is, he is no longer in pain.
As he savors the moment, his mind cannot comprehend how Pinhead find pain as the ultimate form of pleasure.
{A/N: Pinhead is the main antagonist of the Hellraiser series. Humans who encounter him are subjected into unimaginable amount of pain.}
The pain did however made him recall something he had long forgotten. Something very important.
He didn't just transmigrate into someone else's body in a different world.
He transmigrated into a player character. It supposedly player character that the protagonist of his Overlord fanfiction will inhabit.
What's f**ked up about his situation is, that story was long abandoned. It was one of those stories he wrote when inspiration made him think this is a good story to write about, and then stops writing because he is no longer feeling inspired type of story.
The community didn't help either. They didn't appreciate his amateur work. They harshly criticizing his work, tearing his already low self-esteem asunder. They made him feel as useless as the human appendix.
Nevertheless, he promised himself that this one is different, that he'll finish this story, and it will be an amazing one.
But he never did.
He forgotten about it, just like the rest of his stories he had left sitting in his laptop.
Tyrean chuckled, before laughing like a mad man.
"AhahahahahahahahahaHAhahAHAHAhahahHAHAHAHAhaHAHhahaHahAhAHahaHAHAhAHAHaHaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" His maniacal laughing quickly distorted into something horrifying. If there was any being who was unlucky enough to hear him, they would definitely lose their mind.
"I never expect that unfulfilled promises could go so amazing!" He grinned wider than the Joker could. "So the choice is to be still and stagnate, or move forward? The answer is obviously the latter."
His line of thought is suddenly focused on the thought about his original body.
"…"
"It doesn't matter." He shrugged.
Whatever happens to it is no longer his concern. That's all in the past. He has to live the present and look forward to his new and brighter future.
He then warily opened his status window once more and read through it.
[x]
It took him several hours to go through everything that he needed to know.
From his status window, to his various job classes: what they entails; abilities—both passive and active; and his spell collection. He went through their descriptions, requirement, limitations, and cost.
He did this because he doesn't what to experience a similar fate as Shalltear's descend to madness due to the effect of her passive [Blood Frenzy].
Although most of his level is solely devoted to the mercantile class, the chances of him having abilities with that has such drawback is very high due to his beyond-unique racial class.
Well, it's not all bad. In fact, because of his racial class having a designation beyond unique, gave it more benefit than drawbacks.
Immunity to Karma Manipulation
Good, Light, and Holy Immunity
Evil, Darkness, and Unholy Immunity
Recovery by Good, Light, and Holy Attribute
Recovery by Evil, Darkness, and Unholy Attribute
Recovery by Negative Energy
Recovery by Curse or Hex
Sense Deprivation Immunity
Sleep Immunity
Mind-affecting Immunity
Death and Instant Death Immunity
Poisoning Immunity
Disease Immunity
Paralysis Immunity
Petrification Immunity
Grappling Immunity
Restraining Immunity
Immunity to Involuntary Spatial Movement
Time-affecting Immunity
Critical Hit Immunity
Divine Tier Magic Immunity V
Divine Tier Physical Immunity V
Divine Tier Karma-modified Attack Immunity V
Divine Tier Slashing Resistance V
Divine Tier Piercing Resistance V
Divine Tier Bludgeoning Resistance V
Divine Tier Negative Status Resistance V
Divine Tier Elemental Resistance V
Eating, Drinking and Breathing are Unnecessary
Arcane Vision
Dark Vision
Allspeak
Create Low Tier Monster and Abomination (20/day)
Create Middle Tier Monster and Abomination (12/day)
Create High Tier Monster and Abomination (4/day)
Avatar Creation (1/week)
Aura of the Divine Abhorrent Being I
Aura of the Divine Abhorrent Being II
Aura of the Divine Abhorrent Being III
Immunity to World Class Item's Effect
The list goes on and on.
But the most amazing aspect of his racial class was the ability to shapeshift and imitative transformation without any penalty or restriction. In addition to that, he has access to over a thousand forms to choose from.
Overall, his racial class is truly marvellous.
By itself, he has enough arsenal to become a very dangerous adaptive opponent. It goes to show that YGGDRASIL's game developers don't care about balance when those things are involved.
Next thing he went through was his inventory and vault.
His unique mercantile job class, Hands of Midas, granted him a skill called [Moving Vault].
It, basically is another inventory that a user gain access to. Though, the beauty of this skill is, it offers a separate storage compartment that cannot be forcefully opened by anyone. Which meant that its thief proofed. The only person who could open it is, its user.
This makes it a very good place to hide items that you don't want to get stolen. The skill has close to no restriction either. Other than it is unable to store a World Class Items or unsealed familiars, it's a very good skill to have. One could even say that it's an essential skill to have as a merchant.
Anyways…
Going through them both his inventory and [Moving Vault] was exhausting.
It was both time consuming and mentally taxing.
He almost threw a fit when he saw how much both had in them. He couldn't wrap his head at the idea that they're so huge yet so full. They are almost bursting into seems.
Thankfully, like what happened before, he suddenly gained sudden awareness all of his possession—sort of like gaining a master list of every possession that he has. All that was left is review the master list and boom, he'll knows what he has.
Though Tyrean may sound like he's complaining, he truly isn't. In fact, he's very thankful that he has a lot of stuff. He may never know it, but there might come a time that those items will be needed. Having them constantly in his inventory, might one day save his life. Additionally, some of those items that he found gave him a whole new set of powerful arsenal to choose from.
"Status."
When his status window appeared, he couldn't help himself grinning like a fool. Having such a high stats even though he has close to no offensive nor defensive job classes, is something close to impossible.
{How did they say it?}
Tyrean thought about how Ainz and his friends express their hatred towards the game developers.
{Ah, I remember, those sh**ty devs!}
His racial class gave his stats a very nice boost. His equipment, on the other hand, sort of gave him steroids.
Like most very competitive online games that he had played before, equipment quality makes a huge impact in the overall gaming experience. And the same concept applies to YGGDRASIL as well.
Frankly, this concept makes perfect sense.
When two untrained humans fight, they could definitely inflict damage fighting with his bare hands. But, when one of them was equipped with a gun, it will be a definite game changer. The person with the gun could inflict greater amount of damage than without one.
"Shalltear Bloodfallen's total stats is less than mine. That means I'm pretty powerful."
Knowing that fact, it boost Tyrean's confident to a whole new level. That also means he won't die from the slightest touch of a butterfly.
{No, stats isn't everything in battle.} Tyrean chastised himself.
The battle between Ainz and Shalltear clearly demonstrated this. Although, Shalltear could have easily that battle if she fought carefully.
"Nevertheless, I shouldn't be too confident nor careless."
Back to his equipment.
Not only his equipment and accessories provides him extremely high stat boost, some of which could do a lot more. Like providing him, additional resistances and immunities.
Tyrean turned his attention towards his rings.
"I look forward seeing what you can do." He said, his eyes twinkling in excitement.
Amongst the rings that he has, his favorites are the two ring sets called [Virtues] and [Vices] and each set has nine rings.
[Virtues] is a set of defensive rings, consisting of nine rings. These rings must be worn constantly for they provided a set boost. It also provide an assortment of useful spells ranging from: high-tier defensive buff; high-tier defensive barrier; mobility enhancing buff; as well as a summoning spell.
[Vices] on the other hand, is a set of nine offensive rings. Unlike its counterpart, [Vices] does not provide a set boost. Thus, they should be worn one at a time for it.
Even though [Vices] has no set boost, they are imbued with extremely potent offensive spells. Those spell ranges from 10th tier spell to a super tier spells.
As for the rest of his accessories, other than the additional stat boost, each provides him with some sort of utility spells that ranges from: the [Time Stop]; a powerful disengage spell; an instantaneous deployment of crowd control; high-tier healing; a teleportation spell; and finally a [Destroy Magic].
The sheer quality of his equipment was truly dumbfounding. Not to mention that he even has an assortment of situational equipment, weapons, and accessories ready to be used in any given point.
He also has a collection of Gatcha prizes that ranges from the game's first year up to its last are present in his inventory. The likes of [Shooting Star], a level 90 ultra-rare dragon familiars, and a vintage Rolls-Royce dawn drophead as a mount.
"I'm truly The Richest, huh." He unconsciously muttered.
Knowing that he's now rich beyond his wildest dreams is already a given. And seeing multiple proofs of his richness shoved into his face made him want to cackle like a mad glee.
{Whoever or whatever you are, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am very grateful to receive this blessing.}
To add an 'overkill' factor to his richness, all the while, adding another layer of security to his already impressive defensive capabilities is his skill called [Summon Bodyguard].
A skill he gained from his job class.
The skill allows him to either create a servant or summon a named NPC by a pre-existing contract. The latter acts similar to [Mercenary Contract]. The difference however is, he could employ Named NPCs.
At first, Tyrean was confused by the label 'Named NPCs.' But when he saw the lone contract between him and a named NPC called Mephistopheles, it all became clear as day.
Named NPCs are very powerful. Powerful enough to be considered as a final boss of an S tier dungeon.
Wondering why he only has one Named NPC Contract left, he saw how extensive, expensive, and exponentially difficult it was to gain one.
To hire a Named NPC an extensive requirements that is needed to be met. First, you can only hire Named NPC whose karma alignment must be close, similar, or neutral to your alignment. Meaning, you can never employ Named NPCs whose karma opposite to yours.
Second, the player must need to have a certain degree of friendship to the Named NPC.
Each Named NPC has a different means of raising friendship level. Some could be easy as giving them gifts, others, especially those who are very powerful, requires to accomplish a very difficult tasks.
Third is, the player must have a certain degree of faction fame to hire a Named NPC.
According to what he had read, fame can be gathered by doing quest or mission related to one's karma value. For example, those who are in the evil spectrum are rewarded with fame when they kill high seat angels.
When all of the previous requirement are met, one must have enough gold to pay the NPC.
Payment Named NPC could range five hundred thousand gold coins up to millions. A contract with Mephistopheles required him to pay about 1.5 million gold coins. Their service are definitely more expensive than using a [Mercenary Contract].
Although it seems outrageous to do so, having a very powerful NPC in your pocket isn't bad. Tyrean could see the potential of using this option. Though it isn't a good investment, nevertheless it could become a trump card.
On the other side of the coin, creating and levelling your servant is pretty much useless. Especially with their max level is only 75.
And according to Ainz, a level 75 NPC is practically useless against the assault of level 100 player. For someone to serve as a minor annoyance for a 100 player, they should at least be level 85.
Thankfully, YGGDRASIL would allow to bypass this restriction by paying its steep price. Adding one level to a bodyguard would cost 250000 gold coins.
Opening his guards' master list window, he learned that he has four level 100 bodyguards. Specifically, a warrior, a tank-cleric hybrid, a mage, and an assassin.
Tyrean could not help to whistle in surprise. That meant they spent 25 million gold coins just to bypass the level restriction.
{Goodness. YGGDRASIL really have a lot of gold sinks.}
So far, Tyrean is extremely satisfied with everything.
Closing all the windows, he finally decided that it's time to try spell casting.
"If this turns out to be more difficult that it is. I'm blaming you Maruyama for making it seem easy." Says Tyrean as he imitates Ainz's method.
Choosing the most tame spell, Tyrean picks up a rock and began trying.
{Okay, focus, visualize the spell's icon.}
In his mind, the spell's icon slowly fade into existence.
{There!}
"[Appraisal]."
Upon the spell activation, he could feel his mana being drawn by spell. It wasn't unpleasant nor unwelcomed. It was just weird, like air is being drawn out of your body.
The feeling didn't last though, he could assume that his mana regeneration had replaced the mana he had used.
Like what he expected from the low tier [Appraisal] spell, it only gave him a brief and concise information about the rock: its common name; a sentence short of description; and its approximate weight.
He then cast another spell to get used to the feeling of spell casting. This time a more potent version of the Appraisal spell.
Unlike before, this spell gave him a better detail about the item he's inspecting. It even mentioned what kind of rock it was.
Trying it another time, Tyrean used his one of the strongest version of the Appraisal spell.
[All Appraisal]
As expected, the spell gave him a highly detailed information about the rock he's holding.
Mineral components and its percentage, approximate age of the rock, and many more.
Seeing that spell casting will not be a problem, he pulls out a gun from his inventory. This time he'll try his weaponry.
Another cool feature of mercantile class is they could use any weapon, provided that their stats matches the weapon's requirement.
Throwing the rock into the air, Tyrean shot it mid-air.
Bang!
The gunshot was neither too loud nor too quiet.
Like what he expected from a level 100 weapon would do a piece of rock, it shattered into dust.
Seeing the test result, Tyrean felt unsatisfied. Not because shooting isn't fun, he actually liked it, but because the rock is not a good target practice. He thought about finding moving target but decided not to.
"Next time." He promises to himself before dropping the gun and letting it fade back into his inventory.
Although he has an assortment of weapon, he won't be trying them all. He'd be insane if he does so. Plus, his primary goal is to gain information about this world not increasing his weapon proficiency.
"Let's prepare the tributes." He muttered.
With a flick of his hand four portal connected to his inventory opened, and as soon as the portals opened gold coins started pouring out like a busted fire hydrant.
Looking at the steady torrent of gold coins, Tyrean thought:
{Thank goodness I don't need to count manually.}
[x]
Once the last piece of gold needed dropped to the cavern floor, portals quickly closed.
The amount needed to summon his four Guardians are now ready.
"Good. The payment is ready."
The truth of the matter is, Tyrean was holding his breathe. He was afraid that he'll be buried alive by his gold. Since the amount of money he needed spend for a single guard is about the same as reviving Shalltear, then multiple it by four, really filled the place up. He sighed loudly in relief when the portal finally closed.
Although he can escape, the idea of being buried in his own money is just a dumb way to die.
Seeing the large amount of gold scattered really brightens the dreary cave.
{Well any sane person would be very happy when they are at their presence of this amount of gold.}
Surveying the gold, he felt no remorse or hesitation in spending a great sum of money. Why should he? It's for his own good.
Tyrean saw a coin sitting innocently on top his left shoe. He recalled Ainz mentioning that YGGDRASIL had change their coin design and how each meant to him.
Curious, he picks it up and inspects it closer. Seeing that it was decorated by the face of a woman, he knew that this one is new gold.
He then opened his inventory and commanded it to give him a first generation gold coin.
And like a faithful servant, his inventory opened and deposited a single gold coin in his waiting hand. Bring both closer to, inspect their designs and begins comparing them from one another.
After seeing that they're both equally well-made, he threw the first generation gold back to his inventory.
When he was about to begin, he saw dirt in sleeves. It's not just his sleeves that are dirty, he looked like he went for a mud bath or mud wrestling, whichever is muddier.
He grimaced.
{Thank goodness, I haven't started. That would have been very embarrassing.}
Even though first impression isn't everything. It still holds a lot of impact. That is why he needs to look his best.
He then pats his clothing to remove the dirt and grime.
{Magical clothing are the best!} Tyrean could imagine how much money, time, and effort can be saved with magical clothing.
Inspecting himself, Tyrean felt that it might not be enough. And so, he decided to cast a cleansing spell just to be sure.
I mean, you wouldn't want to be strutting around like a male peacock searching for potential female (Not that he is looking.) and then you find out later that everyone was staring at you not because you look good but because of a huge ass stain in your back that you didn't see. He'd kill himself if that ever happens to him.
Once the spell effect finished, Tyrean closed his eyes, breathe deeply, before exhaling slowly. He did this until he felt that he's ready.
Slipping into his best stoic look, he starts the summoning.
"Your service is needed. Your payment are ready. COME FORTH MY GUARDIANS! YOUR MASTER REQUIRES YOUR SERVICE!" Tyrean finished by throw the gold he's holding back to the pile.
Once coin fell touches the pile, it began to melt. Like dominoes, the rest soon followed.
Not a second later, the gold have liquidate, creating a beautiful pool of liquid gold flowing the cavern floor.
In an unrelated note, Tyrean, who was watching the liquid gold, wondered what would it feels to swim in a pool of melted gold.
As his mind was focused on something else, the liquid gold moved and congregated into four spots. Within a second, the gold formed into four crouching humanoid figures.
Like watching a video in hyper-speed setting, those humanoid figures quickly gained finer details. The likes of facial features, their body size and mass, their clothing, etc.
When their golden bodies finally settled down, their golden tint slowly recedes and replaced by their respective coloration. As this happens, the guards are losing their golden glow.
Noticing the receding glow, Tyrean knew that they will be alive and ready to serve any moment now.
As soon as the glow dissipates completely, the four simultaneously stood upright. Their chins up, eyes locked onto him, chests out, shoulders back, and arms fixed at the sides. They look like a picture perfect example of a soldier standing at attention.
Tyrean fought the urged to wryly smile. Recalling, how stuffy Ainz felt at the present of the NPCs, Tyrean felt that summoning them might not be such a good idea.
{I can't dismiss them now. That will be a waste of money.} Although he a boat-loads of money, he will not be carelessly spending them all.
He unconsciously nodded to his own musing. His guards, who was watching him like a hawk, saw this. They took it as a sign of approval and signal for them to introduce themselves.
Knowing that this is their chance to show their worth, the Guardian on Tyrean's furthest left, stepped forward to introduce himself.
"ALTOS... PRESENTS… HIMSELF… TO… THE... MASTER."
Altos' manner of speaking is very slow, and rumbling. It's kind of like watching a video in YouTube with a bad internet connection.
He's about 2.8 meter tall, has a dark brown skin tone, like that of a Hersey milk chocolate. He's completely bald and has a thin pair of eyebrows that is almost unnoticeable due to his skin tones and a trimmed beard. His exotic skin made his liquid mercury eyes popped even more.
Altos' uniform consist of a typical modern bodyguard. A black suit and pants, a plain white dress shirt, a black tie with a platinum tie clip.
His clothing cannot seem to hide how absurdly muscular he is. This doesn't diminish the man's overall sexual appeal. If one would describe Altos, it would be a beautiful slumbering beast.
Seeing how appealing the man is, Tyrean felt that it's quite disappointing that he's a golem.
Just like before, information about his bodyguards unravelled by itself.
Sensing a pattern, Tyrean can safely assumed that those locked information in his head has condition needed to be met. And he cannot also reproduce those condition to. It has to happen naturally. Although it sounds like a hassle, it's so much better than not gaining info.
Going back to the topic.
Altos is and never will be 'just' a golem.
From what he learned, the golem's strength is always proportional to the quality of the material utilized in making them.
That being said, Altos' creation was the answer to the question: how strong can a golem become, if the seven most expensive ores were used not just as its core, but for its entirety?
Since the previous user was unimaginably rich, he indulged. And the rest was history.
This results to Altos' having a ridiculously high base stats, a whole lot of bonus resistances and immunities. When Altos reached max level, those bonuses were practically doubled their value.
With his balanced yet overpowered stats, Altos was built to be a terrifying damage dealer with an equality terrifying defensive capabilities.
As soon as Altos steps back, the next guard stepped forward to introduce himself.
"Anan Tasssha A. Ssshesssha, presentsss himssself to the Master." The man next to Altos spoke softly. His voice gave Tyrean a tingling sensation. It felt like something is trying to reach in into his brain.
Of course, Tyrean easily shook the weird feeling off.
He wanted to ask Tasha what was that, but he held his tongue.
From what he knew, Tasha might have a similar skill to Demiurge's [Command Sutra].
Unlike Altos, Anan's skin is beautifully sun-kissed tan, the perfect golden tan. He stand about 2 meter tall and sports a mischievous grin. He has a pair of captivating emerald green eyes that are peaking behind his untamed slightly curly dark hair.
Because of his hair length, his features were all shadows and light. His nose a long straight patrician line, his upper lip narrow but with a perfect bow to it, the lower lip fuller and enticing.
Looking at Tasha, you would immediately notice how long legged he is. This make him look a skinny despite him being fairly muscular himself.
Tasha's uniform consist of similarly styled black suit and pants, white dress shirt as Altos, and an emerald-green tie with a scally pattern. He also has a single golden chain ear cuff in his left ear, a golden necklace peeking through his uniform, and a bunch of golden bangles in his right wrist that occasionally make a jingling sound as he moves.
Tasha is built around the concept of an extremely potent single-target disruptor. His primary objective is, to remove highest threat among the opposing team. With the way he is build and equipped, it would take an equally powerful spell to remove his disruption.
Did I mention that has removing his disruption has a high chance of failing? Because it does. This makes it very difficult to remove his control over his target.
High tier cleansing spells have long cooldown, so by the time it's up, the battle is already won.
Normally, his build would have left him extremely fragile. But just like Tyrean, Tasha's equipment made up for this weakness. And even if they were remove Tasha from the field, his lingering effect would ensure Tyrean's successful escape.
As soon as Tasha steps back, the third Guardian stepped forward to introduce himself.
The Guardian removed his fedora before he introduced himself.
"Mikolaj Rasputin Behnke, prezentz himzelf to ze Mazter."
Mikolaj has a very noticeable accent. It's not that he's bother by it. In fact, he actually like it.
He's as tall as Tasha. The two of them also have a similar body mass. Though Mikolaj isn't long legged as Tasha, which in turn, made him look more muscular than Tasha.
Mikolaj has bold features, like sharp jawline and protruding cheekbones. His fair skin was littered with freckles, like stars are in a starry night. His ginger red hair has this windswept spiky thick hairstyle that suits him so well. Lastly, he had this very warm and welcoming brown eyes, will remind you of a warm coffee mixed with cream.
Like the rest of the guards, Mikolaj uniform consist of a black suit and pants, white dress shirt, and black tie. He also wear additional items like black fedora with a grey silk, a rectangle-shaped reading glasses and a pair of black leather gloves.
By all intensive purpose, Mikolaj is a short to mid-range burst marksman assassin. He was designed to deal an absurd amount of damage by means of devastating combo attack before fading out of the battlefield.
When Mikolaj steps back, the last Guardian stepped forward.
As soon as he stepped forward, the Guardian beamed with holy radiance.
"Hiron A. Bask, ipinipresenta ang sarili sa aming Panginoon. (Hiron A. Bask, presents himself to the master.)"
Hiron is about 2.2 meter tall and pale in skin tone. He has a wide shoulder, narrow waist and slender limbs. In simpler terms, the man had a body of a male god.
The man's unruly blond short hair is the same shade as the radiant sun. His big and expressive sapphire blue eyes looks like the clear blue sky. His gorgeous eyes are accompanied by a set of slightly thick eyebrow the same color as his hair.
Tyrean could not help to think that Hiron was made to look like your typical extremely handsome male lead.
Like the rest of his bodyguards, his uniform consist of black suit and pants, a plain white dress shirt, and a black tie.
Even without any additional or changes in his uniform, Hiron's handsomeness shines through. Even Tyrean thought that adding more is completely unnecessary.
Looking at the man, Hiron looks like he's saint. Someone who wouldn't dare harm any living creature.
But the truth is far from it. His holiness is just a façade to hide his borderline overpowered fighter.
Just like Dungeons and Dragons, YGGDRASIL seems to be struggling to balance clerics. Abusing those loopholes, Hiron was born.
He's a Guardian that has access to powerful offensive skillset (ranging from: melee, mid-range, and long range), defensive skillset (single target to area-wide), and supportive skillset (heals, buffs, and cleanses).
In short, Hiron is a very powerful well-rounded servant.
When Hiron finishes introducing himself, Altos, Tasha, and Mikolaj steps forward before simultaneously knelt on one knee, press one hand against their chests and said:
" " " " We offer ourselves and by extension our service, to you, Tyrean T. Photel-sama!" " " "
They knelt respectfully and lowered their head to Tyrean. Looking at how neatly they line up and how identical posture, Tyrean is very much impressed at what he is seeing.
As he was inspecting, thoughts formed into his head.
{What the hell?! Why do these men look so good? I mean seriously! Where they made by a bunch of thirsty women? Were they trying to make their ideal partner?}
In his previous life, Tyrean has a tendency to look stare take appreciate glances towards beautiful people. I mean who wouldn't.
Which is why he's having a hard time being at their presence. He just hope that he'll get used to them. The sooner, the better it will be for him.
Dismissing that thought, he spoke:
"Raise your head."
With a swoosh, everyone raised their head simultaneously.
This in turn exposed him to their handsome visage.
{F**k! Bad idea, bad idea!}
He mentally struggled to calm himself.
"Ahem! First, you have my gratitude for answering my call."
"Tyrean T. Photel-sssama there isss no need to thank usss. We are made for ssserve you. It's the every purpose of our exissstence."
"Elizha ez reit, Tyrean T. Photel-zama. Ve vould ve meaninglez if ve cannot serv you Milord."
Altos nodded his head in agreement. "I… BELIEVE… SO… TOO… TYREAN… T… PHOTEL…SAMA!"
"Panginoon wala kang dapat ipagpasalamat sa amin. Kundi, dapat kami ang magpapasalamat saiyo. Sapagkat hinayaan nyo kaming maging bahagi ng iyong engrandeng plano. (My fellow Guardians are right, Tyrean T. Photel-sama. We are supposed to be the ones thanking you for allowing our insignificant selves to become a part of your glories grand design.)"
He wanted to insist thanking them but stop himself. He recalled that Ainz had similar problem before. If he kept on insisting, they will never get a move one. So, he simply settled with a nod.
Taking the leading role, Mikolaj commanded his fellow guardians:
"Tyrean T. Photel-zama, ve may ve lacking but herevy zwear to ve—"
"—YOUR... BLADE."
"—your will—"
"—your dark handz—"
"—iyong kalasag (your shield)—"
" " " "—we shall accomplish any task set to us, without hesitation, no matter how arduous or difficult, and above all we will protect you and all your interest. THIS WE SWEAR WITH EVERY FIBER OF OUR BEING!" " " "
Looking at how solemn his bodyguards' pledge themselves to him, made him want to coo at how touching the sight before him. Having four equally handsome looking entity pledge their undying allegiance and loyalty made him feel ten feet tall.
He felt excited at what to come.
Tyrean applauded.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
"Well said. Very well said. I am very thrilled to know that you'll carry my command without fail! Also, rather than calling me by my full name, you may address me by my first name."
" " " "By your will Tyrean-sama" " "
He could see his Guardians' eyes shine when they were praised. If they all have tails, they would be wagging it vigorously. He almost want to pat their heads.
Seeing how happy they look, he also hesitated to continue.
{No. Do not falter. This is very important.} He reminded himself.
"That being said, I ask you to never blindly follow my commands. Do not label nor limit yourselves as tools, I already have plenty of those. What I need servants that capable of doing beyond what they are told."
He could see them deflating bit by bit. It's almost laughable at how easy it is to make them happy and sad.
Although Tyrean felt bad for saying those words, he reminded himself that it's all for the greater good. Which is why he press on.
Only this time, he spoke in a much gentler tone.
"Listen well my guardians, you must think before you act. If you feel your orders are in error or if you have a better alternative, then you must tell me or the person proposing the idea."
He doesn't want his Guardians acting like the NPCs of The Great Tomb of Nazarick, who thinks of Ainz's commands as absolute. He wants them to be able to think outside the box.
Tyrean knew that he is not particularly smart nor talented, which is why he will need all the help he can get. Having competent servants would definitely be a greater boon than having a lot of strong yet mindless servants.
"—What I need are flexible vassals. Can you be that?" he finished.
The shine in his Guardians' eyes returned and it was even brighter than before. The group then answered him with a resounding chorus of:
" " " "YES, TYREAN-SAMA!" " " "
"EXCELENT! I'll be looking forward working with you."
Satisfied with their resolve, John began the briefing.
[x]
"As you can see—" Tyrean gesture the interior of the cavern. "—we are currently in an alien world. As for our exact location, I have yet to know. When I came into, I found myself laying here with no recollection how I came here nor who or what brought me here. Any questions so far?"
[x]
Hiron glanced at his fellow guards, see if they has something to ask. Sadly, their attention is focused on something else.
{Merong hungas na nagkalas loob na kidnappin ang aming pinakamamahal na Panginoon at iwan siya sa ubod ng duming lugar na ito. (Someone dared to kidnap their beloved Master and was audacious enough to dump him in this, this, filthy cave.)}
The way their master was treated enrage the Guardians. It made their blood boil. Even for someone like Hiron, who has the patience of saint, was downright murderous.
It was taking all the restrain that they could muster, not to go on and rampage.
"Wala po kaming tanong, Tyrean-sama. (We have no questions, Tyrean-sama.)" Hiron gritted.
[x]
Tyrean nods.
"On lighter side, since my awakening, I have conducted a lot of testing. I have learned that items, abilities, and spells that came from YGGDRASIL were still functioning as they intended. With that being said, I'll give you time later on to check your arsenals if their fully operational. If there are issues, you must tell me."
Tyrean got an affirmative nods from his guardians.
"Speaking of items, are any of you aware of World Class Items?"
"Pagpasensyahan nyo po kami, sapagkat di namin alam ang bagay na iyon. (Pardon our inability to answer your question about World Class Items, Tyrean-sama.)"
"It's fine. I will not hold it against you. Do not, I repeat, do not take this a sign of incompetence. Do you understand my guardians?"
" " " "Thank you Tyrean-sama!" " " "
Tyrean recalled how deeply affected Albedo was when she was unable to answer Ainz's question. Taking it as a lesson, he needed to assure his Guardians that it isn't their fault.
{F**k!}
He realized that he needs to be very gentle when his dealing with his Guardians. He swore that it's like he gained four powerful children.
"According to the lore, the world class items are remnants of the world tree's leaves, that weren't eaten by the world eater. Those leaves were then scattered throughout the remaining nine world. When the leaves were scattered, they took a new forms, hiding them from the world eater. From what I learned, there are about two hundred of them. Each one carries the power equal to a single world. Hence, the name World Class Items."
A trace of awe is visible in his guardians' faces.
{I mean, who wouldn't be? Those ridiculously overpowered items could break the balance of game.}
"To give you a better understanding to how powerful they are, let me tell you about a world class item named [Downfall of Castle and Country] or [Ruinous Beauty]. It's a dress like clothing that allows the wearer to forcibly take control of the mind of any target creature regardless of any immunities it has. The wearer of this item grants its user control over the creature for an indefinite period of time. Even when the user dies, its effect will not dissipate. The most terrifying aspect of world class items is, their effects cannot be dispelled nor resisted by anything less than a World Class Item."
A solemn gleam then shined through his guardians' eyes. He's very happy that his Guardians understand how dangerous those items are, especially when they are in the wrong hands.
"What a terrifying power." Tasha hissed.
"Indeed. Like I have said before, World Class Items' effect can only be resisted when one holds a World Class Items themselves."
Tyrean opened his inventory and pulled out four items.
"Fortunately for us, I have enough World Class Item to secure all of us. And before you even refuse, I dislike the idea of my property falling into somebody else's hand. So accept it, and say thank you. Think of it this way, by protecting yourselves, you would be able to protect me." Tyrean says handing them each a World Class Item.
When he was going through his inventory, he discovered that he has not one but six world class items sitting there.
It made him cried in happiness when he discovered those.
Tyrean handed a ring to Altos, a very old and fragile looking jar to Tasha, a vajra to Mikolaj and shield for Hiron. He kept the remaining two in his inventory.
Those four won't do him good because he isn't meant to be at the battlefield.
Coincidently, all of his guardians are suited for the ring. Though everyone would greatly benefit from it, the only one who could tap its highest potential would be Altos.
"THANK… YOU… TYREAN… SAMA… WE… ARE… TRULY… BLESSED… TO… SERVE… A… GENEROUS… AND… KIND… MASTER… SUCH… AS… YOURSELF."
"Atloz iz riet! It zhould hav veen uz protecting yu, not ve othe' way r'und. Milord truly a venevolent Mazter. Your kindnesz knowz no voundz. Zank you, Milord."
"Thank you Tyrean-sssama. Ressst asssure Master, your kindnesss will never be forgotten. We ssshall sstrive to meet your all your expectationsss. No foe ssshall be able to lay their filthy handsss on you. "
"Maraming salamat Tyrean-sama. Sa ngalan ng iyong mga tagapagtanggol muli akong nagpapasalamat sa iyong kabaitan, sa iyong kabutihang-loob, pagunawa sa aming pakukulang at pasensya. Maraming salamat. (Thank you very much Tyrean-sama. In behalf of your guardians, we thank you for your kindness, your generosity, your understanding, and most importantly, your patience towards us. Thank you very much Tyrean-sama.)"
The onslaught of sincere praises left him speechless. Tyrean has never been on to receiving side of such level of sincerity.
They made him flush in embarrassment.
"Ahem! Let us continue our previous discussion. As I have said before, we are thrown in a foreign world without having a clue where we are. Although we are in desperate need of information, we first need establish a rudimentary line of defence. Hiron step forward and receive this items."
Tyrean pulls out seven copies of the magic item called [Forbiddance Ward(Divine)]. He then passed six of it to Hiron.
The way he received the items looked like a devout servant accepting a gift from their god.
[Forbiddance Ward(Divine)] is a magic item that has the more potent version of the 6th tier spell [Forbiddance]. If he has to make a comparison, this ward's effect is probably is in-between 8th tier or 9th tier.
And as the name suggest, the spells forbids anything or anyone the user deems to be from entering its influenced zone. This effect can be further exacerbated by connecting multiple copies into a single network, boosting their power level equivalent to a 10th tier spell.
"Hiron, you shall be acting as the captain of this mission. Do you accept this responsibility?"
"Tinatanggap ko ang tungkuling ito ng buong puso. (I accept this duty and fulfil it with all my heart, Tyrean-sama)"
"Mikolaj, you will be going Hiron in this mission. Do you have any problem with Hiron acting as your superior? Speak now."
"I hav no prob'em vith Hiron az my superior, Milord."
"Good. Your primary mission is to exit the cave and set up these wards. You are to set them up in a hexagonal shape, the cave at its center. Once you have finish installing the wards, notify me with [Message] spell. I'll immediately activate the ward array. Your secondary mission is to investigate the surrounding region. Do not stray more than a kilometer away from here. In you encounter intelligent creatures, observe them. If you were discovered, retreat. If you are 100% sure you can to take them down with ease, you are permitted to interact peacefully with them and try invite them here. Mikolaj, you have the highest stealth skill, do not reveal yourself. Let Hiron interact, while you stay hidden. If they agree, send me message. We will try accommodate them during negotiation. If they don't, you are allowed to use force. Oh! When I say force, knock them out quickly as possible and then bring them here. Also, do not cause unnecessary pain nor trauma. Do you have question about your missions?
"Wala po kaming tanong patungkol sa aming mission, panginoon. (We do not have any questions about the mission, Tyrean-sama.)"
"Good, go my forth Guardians, take care when accomplishing your task and return safely."
" "Yes, Tyrean-sama!" " The chorused, their voices brimming in happiness.
As soon as they were given the signal, Mikolaj and Hiron left so fast, it made him they shunshin that has smoke, shadow, or leaves.
(A/N: Shunshin or Body flicker is a teleportation technique commonly used Naruto-verse.)
Although Tyrean was impressed, he didn't dwell on it. He then reached into his inventory to pull out more wards. This time each ward is different. And from how they radiate power, one could say their equally powerful as the [Forbiddance Ward(Divine)].
"Tasha, come forth and receive this wards. Your task is to set up wards at the cavern entrance. Altos, you are to stand and guard Tasha as he do so." Says Tyrean as he hands Tasha the wards he took from his inventory as well as the last [Forbiddance Ward(Divine)].
[x]
Hearing a single beep from his head, Tyrean was momentary confused, he then recalled that the spell [Message] was doing that.
{It hasn't been ten minutes since they have left. Those guys work fast.} Tyrean thought.
He then allowed the spell to go through.
Other than gaining eidetic memory, he gained the ability to tell estimates with great precision. Which is why, he could easily tell how much time had passed since Hiron and Mikolaj departure.
"Report."
"Panginoon malugod po naming ipinapaalam sa inyo na nakamit na naming ang pangunahin naming misyon. Sisimulan na po ba naming ang ikalawang parte ng aming misyon? (Tyrean-sama, we are very happy to tell you that we have accomplished our primary mission. Shall we proceed to our next agenda?)"
"Well done. I'm giving you permission to start."
"Maraming salamat, Panginoon. (Thank you, master.)"
Tyrean then cuts off the spell. Turning his gaze to his remaining Guardians, he addressed them.
"Altos, Tasha, I will begin to set up the ward network. It is imperative that I am not interrupted. The two of you are to ensure that nothing interrupts me. With that being said, Altos, until further notice, you are hereby given the permission to keep on utilizing the ring's effect once it refreshes its cooldown."
"BY… YOUR… WILL... TYREAN… SAMA."
Altos activated the ring's effect.
It begins to glow a bright yellow light. Soon Altos himself was enveloped by a ball of light.
Both Tyrean and Tasha watched the scene in fascination.
After all, the usage of a World Class Item isn't as common occurrence.
Not a second later, the ball of light quickly separated into eight rays. Each then quickly solidified and then took the form of Altos.
When all is said and done, the copies became a perfect replica of Altos. If it's not for the ring, Tyrean would have a hard time finding which one is the original.
"Interesssting."
Without saying a single word, the clones moved simultaneously and set up a perimeter around Tyrean. The real Altos infront of Tyrean, while Tasha stood close by their Master.
Seeing both of his Guardians were now ready and rearing to go, Tyrean uttered the ward's activation command:
"I claim dominion over this land! As its rightful ruler, that those without my permission will never be able to step into my domain. Enforce my will! Activate!"
The [Forbiddance Ward(Divine)] glowed brightly, as if it was responding to his command. It then released multiple rays of light, connecting it to the cluster of wards around it.
Once all the wards close to it were interconnected, six rays of light shot out. The rays targeted the wards Hiron and Mikolaj had installed.
When the rays connected, it activated the wards.
The wards then began releasing their own light rays connecting themselves to the two nearest wards. And the span of less than a second, all the wards interconnects, forming a huge magical array.
The completed array pulsed like how a heart beats before slowly dissipating.
Upon its disappearance, the core wards, from time to time emits an almost-inaudible ringing that causes the space ripple a bit.
"The ward array activation is a success." He happily declared.
With its potency would keep them safe for seven days. And they need to flee or fight, it could even buy enough time to make a stand.
Turning his attention to his Guardians, he says:
"Good work. Now come, there is more work to be done." Gesturing Tasha and Altos to follow him back inside the cave.
Tyrean stops and turns to Altos.
"Altos have your clones continue guarding the perimeter."
[x]
POOF!
What came to existence inside the cavern is a miniature of the Witch's cottage from Gretel and Hansel 2020 movie.
Despite it looking like a child's playhouse, it isn't something to be underestimate. After all, it is a product of magic.
The exact name of this is magic item is [Green Secret House].
It's an item that made an appearance in one of the Overlord drama specials. Wherein, its primary function is to serve as a comfortable lodging for its user.
Since Maruyama didn't give it any physical description, it gave Tyrean and other fanfiction writers as an open concept they could explore.
What Tyrean couldn't understand after seeing the cottage is…
{Why does it have to take that appearance? Why can't it look like anything else but that? }
From what he can recall, he wasn't able to flesh out how that magical item would look like in his fanfiction. Nor, had he written about taking that appearance.
Not that he is complaining.
It just that by the time he had seen that movie, he was no longer writing his fanfiction. In fact, it has been half a year since he visited his fanfiction folders.
He speculated that whatever brought him here might have used existing information in his head to fill the gap of his story.
Looking at the dark and creepy exterior of the cottage, he feels a little apprehensive to approach it, let alone enter the building.
Ever since he learned that he has eidetic memory, Tyrean can now recall everything he had ever experience in perfect clarity. Naturally, he can recall what the witch does in her cottage.
{It's alright. Were okay. It's not really her cottage. It's just an imitation.} He tried to comfort himself.
Looking at the cottage, he thought:
{Why can't it have taken the form of those cosy cottage for I once had seen in those airbnb website?} Tyrean hatefully glares at the cottage as if it had drunk his last cola.
Cottage: ...What did I do?
He internally sigh.
It is pointless to get angry at something that he has no control off.
"Let's head in. I've been dying to lay on something soft and fluffy."
[x]
Inside [Green Secret House].
Tyrean released the breath he was holding.
{Thank goodness it isn't as dreary inside as it is outside.} He thought. In fact, it's quite the opposite.
Just like how he had heard from Hamsuke and Aura, the interior of the magic item is truly massive. It is roughly as large as manor. The cottage has four floors and a very spacious basement. So spacious, it might as well been labelled as an airplane hangar. All rooms except the basement are fully furnished with the most exquisite and tasteful décor.
Its interior décor blends both the untamed beauty of nature with sophisticated architectural design, producing a harmoniously living with nature.
Tyrean learned all of those the moment he entered the cottage.
Unbothered by it, he went to the lounge and chose to sit on the leather wing chair with walnut finish. Altos and Tasha move to a separate corners of the lounge, and stood perfectly still.
As he sank in the chair, he sigh at how comfortable it was. He's now looking forward to sleeping at the master bedroom, specifically at his california king mattress size bed.
Again, Tyrean chastised himself from thinking of sleep.
Tyrean sneakily glanced at his Guardians.
He wanted to invite them to take a seat, but decided not to. They wouldn't dare do something like that until he commands them. He isn't comfortable at forcing them to do something against their will so, he let them be.
{This would have been perfect if have something to drink and nibble on.} He thought.
Not that he has no food, he does have a lot of those.
It's just that those food and drinks are too special to eat and drink.
Just like in most RPG's, consumables are classified into two categories. The first category mainly satisfy hunger and thirst. Consuming the second category provides bonus stats, additional resistances, buffs, heals, cleanse, or any possible combination of those.
Naturally, most of the food he has belongs to the latter. That being said, those food and drinks are very expensive to make and would requires a unique production class in order to make them.
Like any sane person would do, he isn't going to consume them just because he is feeling like it to eat or drink.
His attention then falls back to the cottage décor. It made him recall how taken Suzuki Satoru was at the clear night sky and how bleak the world he came from.
The idea of world's pollution level blowing out of proportion isn't new to him, it just made him wonders if that will be the fate of world he came.
He thought about it for a minute or two, before deciding that that:
{It doesn't matter.}
Dismissing thought, he begins to pull out [Mercenary Contract] and place it on the table.
He retrieve one, and placed it on the table.
He retrieve one, and placed it on the table.
He retrieve one, and placed it on the table.
He retrieve one, and placed it on the table—
He repeated this action a dozen of times, until he has a sizable stack of scrolls in the table.
When he was about to pull out more, he felt someone is calling him.
"Report."
"Panginoon, sa kasalukuyan nasa isang malawak na kaguban. Sa ngayon, wala pa po kaming natatagpuang presencya ng matalinong organismo. (Tyrean-sama, we are currently deep within a forest. Currently, we haven't found any presence of intelligent lifeforms.)"
Tyrean knew that it was a long short but—
His thinking was interrupted by Hiron.
"Paumanhin Panginoon! May namataan si Mikolaj na nagiisang mangangaso malapit sa aming lokasyon. Sa kasalukuyan, nasa labas siya ng aming impluwensya. Maari ninyo po ba kaming bigyan ng permisyo na lapitan siya? (Tyrean-sama, we found a hunter all alone and he is close to our scouting area. Will you give us permission to approach him?)"
{That, that's incredibly convenient!}
"Hm… give me a profile."
"Tao, lalaki, ang edad ay nasa pagitan ng 15 taong gulang hanggang 18 gulang, 156cm ang baiting, kayumagin ang kulay, maiksing silber na buhok, halos walang suot na proteksyon, may dalang basket at ordinaryong punyal na walang kahit na anumang mahika. (Human, male, age is about 15 to 18, height is about 156cm, brown in skin tone, has a short silver hair, wears close to no equipment, carries a woven basket and wields an ordinary dagger with no enchantment whatsoever.)"
Tyrean thought about it for a moment.
The human is all alone. This means they easily capture him without any witness.
Though, he fought it very strange that a young man is hunting alone and ill-equipped.
"Can you identify what level is he?"
"Paumanhin Panginoon, ngunit wala akong abilidad upang malaman ang kaniyang lebel. (I'm sorry Tyrean-sama. I do not have the means to identify his level.)"
"Hmm."
"Does Mikolaj have such ability?"
"Paumanhin, Panginoon, bigyan ninyo ako ng ilang segundo para malaman kung merong ganoong abilidad si Mikolaj. (Tyrean-sama, please give me a moment to ask Mikolaj.)"
"Go ahead, Hiron."
The line went silent for a minute or so.
"Panginoon, magandang balita. Meroon ganoong abilidad si Mikolaj. (Tyrean-sama, Mikolaj confirmed that he has such skill.)"
"That's good. Let him do so. If his level is less than 75, you are permitted to approach the young man. If he became hostile, you and Mikolaj have my permission to use your World Class Items. Also, have Mikolaj continue tailing you. Tell him not to reveal himself. Proceed with caution."
"Masusunood, Panginoon! (Yes, Tyrean-sama! It will be done!)"
THANK FOR READING!
How are you liking the story so far? Please let me know you thoughts on the comment section.
If you like the story please follow the story or me, the author so you'll be notified when the story is updated!
ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR READING!
HAVE A GOOD, NO, HAVE A GREAT DAY!
