Ainz lifted his head from the mountain of heads before him. There was no doubt about it, his Detect Magic: Overrank and Locate Magic: Overrank spells had activated. They were contingency detect spells he'd been able to cast on himself; after seeing the mess at E-Rantel, if any spell above seventh rank was cast he could sense it. The only level he added Locate to was Overrank magic. He didn't wish to waste mana, but if Overrank magic was cast, he wanted to know.

The Detect spell scaled with both caster and the level it was being used to detect. Since it was single use and spells were cast with such frequency in Yggdrasil, giving a Detect Magic: Rank 1 spell long range would almost instantly trigger it. In this world, since higher level magics were rare the unlimited duration came in handy. The developers obviously hadn't built it thinking of a magically scarce world. Detect Magic: Overrank covered an area about the size of Australia when in Yggdrasil, though he hadn't the opportunity until now to test its true limits here.
Foolishly, he hadn't added Identify Magic as an addition to the spell. The magic appeared a vast distance to the southeast, well outside Re-Estize. If he remembered correctly, it was in the Dragonic Kingdom. The area of effect looked like it was mid-range: Domain Magic. Domain Magic altered the surroundings to make a fight more favorable in most cases.

Ainz quickly recast his spells, not minding burning extra MP to Quicken them. His magic reserves were huge and this matter was important.

"Detect Magic: OverrankLocate Magic: OverrankIdentify MagicFalse CoverIdentify Caster..."
Ainz led his guild to many victories, PKing opponents that discriminated against heteromorphic players. This was not due to his combat abilities, but how well he could gather information. Even so, his detection spells were triggered before he could finish.

In the same position, Sigyn's Absence activated. A wide range, destructive magic. Not good for fighting a high level opponent, but it would be more than enough to cause terror in this world. A human appearance made its way into his mind. It looked very familiar, there was no doubt they were a player as well. But why were they doing this? This was too inefficient to be fighting another player. Were they a Dangerous Individual?

He began recasting the spells as he thought about how best to defend his guild and yet again another Overrank magic was cast. Creation. It covered the same area as the previous spell. Were they cleaning up after themselves? They might just be showing off their power, but Ainz couldn't discount the possibility the show of force was being used to dominate the town. Being incautious could quickly lead to death in a situation with two Overrank magic users. How could he turn this situation to his advantage?

If they could be trusted, it would be a huge boost for the forces of Nazarick. Although they wouldn't be allowed to join the citadel proper. Being of a heteromorphic race was an absolute requirement, he would not go against what the base stood for. They were humans and he had a feeling why they looked so familiar was because they likely stormed the Guild Hall at the end of Yggdrasil. They should be able to put that behind them, but if they couldn't...
Bait would be the best thing for them to be. Ainz had no idea of how strong the entities of the New World could be, and he refused to risk the creations of his friends to test the waters. Instead, these flashy players could draw the eyes of the major dangers in the world, while Nazarick remained in the shadows. He might extend an olive branch, but they would probably best serve as bait.

"What's going on my lord?" Narberal rushed over through the forest, tossing another few proofs of subjugation onto the pile.

"I have detected the use of Overrank magic. It is not improbable they are the ones who caused the damage to E-Rantel. Once we take the monster parts back to the guild, we will begin a more thorough investigation. Role, use your magic to help transport the goods."

"Yes my lord."

"Refer to me as Momon. Even though I removed my armor, sound can travel farther than one can see in a forest."

"You got it, Momon!" Aureole's personality did a 180 to her cheerful side. Ainz, noticing some of the more detailed detection spells run out recast them for a final time. If these did not pick up on anything, then he would let the spells with limited duration expire. Sensing nothing, he returned to his armored form. The trio returned to E-Rantel, mountain of monster parts in tow.

"Th-this is..." The clerk was visibly stunned with the amount they were turning in. It was enough for Ainz to furrow his non-existent brows, one should endeavor to be professional even in surprising situations. "Excuse me, but did you really defeat all these yourself?"

"Of course. Is there a problem?" Ainz wanted to get through collecting the reward as quickly as possible. He didn't wish for his Momon personality to be seen as impatient, so he bit his tongue and calmly dealt with the situation.

"Well it's just that, well, this is an unprecedented haul for a Copper Plate."

"Whose fault is that, you desk jockey? Maybe we wanted to do something bigger, but you only gave us these weak copper tags!"

"Calm down Role. I apologize for her rudeness." Ainz bowed his head. "I am sure your system works admirably for those just beginning to adventure. However since we are already experienced and there was no way around starting as a Copper Plate, this is the result. Please reward us and take the time needed to evaluate our level."

"A-ah, right. I will speak with the Guildmaster about this." She stammered a little before looking to the sack of body parts. "What have you brought with you?"

Ainz handed over a sheet of paper that had numerous tally marks as well as the final numbers. He predicted this, and the names of the monsters were written in the language of the land. They, along with a few other simple words were all he knew at the moment, but hopefully he could avoid suspicion until he was fully literate.

"36 Ogres as well as...mmm, I'm terribly sorry sir, but I don't believe we have enough on hand to pay you the full price."

"You may defer some of the payment until a later date. By the end of the week, one of us will come to collect."

"Y-yes sir." The clerk looked shaken up, but Ainz figured he should command some respect. He was being quite lenient, he wasn't going to charge them any extra for their incompetence. Well it would have been a bother to do so. Besides, while amassing wealth from this world couldn't all be done in one go. It would be sufficient to acquire just enough to cover their adventuring expenditures at the moment.

After retrieving the goods from the lady, Ainz bid her good day and then left. Leaving the city, he took a final glance around at the rubble. The breaks occurred from north to south. In other words, towards the Draconic Empire. If they were powerful enough to cast Overrank magic, it shouldn't be difficult for them to make the journey.

What was he to do with this information though? Knowledge was power, but what benefit would it bring to Nazarick? Ainz wanted to hold his head in place, lest it start spinning in circles; while he was certainly capable in tactics, these sorts of upper level stratagems were beyond him. Did he dare risk coming into contact with the other Players?

With Narberal and Aureol beside him, in the end he decided not to pursue the matter for the time being. While they were not weak, compared to a high-level player, their safety could not be guaranteed. Nazarick would establish its position in the New World before undertaking any such risks.

It would be best if they gained the support of the country; Nazarick surpassed the military might of Re-Estize Kingdom, but they would be able to cover their tracks if it was used as a proxy. Luckily if he mentioned it to Demiurge, Ulbert's devil would be able to come up with a plan to worm their way into the inner circles of the kingdom. Being a ruler was all about delegation.

A/N: Okay, so it's a little underwhelming, but I've had it sitting in my google drive for ages. I'm actually spending most of my time trying to write my own Original Fiction on RoyalRoadL, Friendly Neighborhood Necromancer. Of course now I'm procrastinating writing that so hard, I've looped around to working on old projects so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯